Stones of Balance
by bricann
Summary: "By the will of men, the balance shall break. Heat will rise, oceans will grow, the world becoming death's gate. The Priests' offspring will return the balance. But the stones must first call upon their presence. In the heart of the offspring, the power shall lay. Bring forth the powers of the stones, they may."
1. Dreams of Stones

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 1: Dreams of Stones

It was a few months after the defeat of Yliaster and Z-One. Yusei, Leo, Luna, Akiza, Crow, and Jack were on an island together to celebrate their victory for once. At the moment, they were in their hotel waiting for their appointed time to go have some fun within the depths of the ocean.

Suddenly, Crow asked, "Anyone noticed how it's been slowly getting hotter and hotter over the past few days?"

"Yeah, I have," Leo answered while the others nodded.

Yusei looked online for a second and said, "The entire world seems to be having the same thing going on. No one can explain it either."

"That's really weird," Akiza commented. "The entire world having the same problem?"

"Yeah," Yusei answered.

"I don't like the sound of that," Jack commented.

"Let's just focus on having fun for once," Crow suggested. "I think we've earned it after all we've done."

"I guess," Akiza responded. "We'll just agree that if someone comes to us asking for help on this matter, we'll figure out what we can do." They all nodded in agreement.

They spent another few hours hanging around and having fun. But that night they each had their own dreams, similar but different.

. . . .

 _-Yusei-_

 _Yusei was in a cave system and he looked around each area. "Where am I?" he wondered. He heard a whistling sound coming from deep within the cave. He raised his eyebrow and walked towards it._

 _He soon came around the corner and found a dead end with a small ledge protruding from the wall. On it, though, was a glowing, white-blue stone within what looked like a nest of white crystals in obsidian rock giving it the appearance of stars._

" _Hurry, Yusei. Retrieve the stone," came a voice. "I need you… We all need you."_

 _. . . ._

 _-Luna-_

 _Luna had found herself in a cave system but it was greener, with a lot more moss and plants. She slowly walked through the area. She heard a whispering sound but couldn't understand any of it._

" _Hello?" she called._

 _She came around a corner to find a green, glowing stone sitting in a mossy nest on a rock ledge. She stepped close to it._

" _Hurry, Luna. Retrieve the stone," called a voice. "I need you… We all need you."_

" _What do you mean?" Luna asked._

 _. . . ._

 _-Jack-_

 _Jack walked through a cave system. But the walls looked almost hot and had electricity sparking out here and there. However, when he touched a wall, it felt cool and his hand didn't burn or get shocked with electricity. He heard a crackling sound as if from electricity in the distance._

 _Slowly, he made his way through the cave system. When he reached a dead end, he saw a glowing, yellow stone sitting within a small ring of lightning._

" _What is that?" Jack wondered._

" _Hurry, Jack. Retrieve the stone," called a voice. "I need you… We all need you."_

" _Who said that?!" he called._

" _Retrieve the stone, Jack," repeated the voice. "Retrieve the stone."_

 _. . . ._

 _-Leo-_

 _Leo walked through a cave system that had sparkling crystals along the walls. "Where am I? What is this place?" he wondered._

 _Suddenly, he heard something that sounded like a rock tumbling on the ground in the distance. He slowly stepped forward._

" _Is someone there?" he called._

 _He came around the corner to see a glowing, brown stone sitting within a crystal nest that was almost completely surrounding it like a dome._

" _Hurry, Leo. Retrieve the stone," called a voice. "I need you… We all need you."_

" _Who needs me?" he asked._

 _. . . ._

 _-Akiza-_

 _Akiza walked around a cave system. The walls seemed like they were steaming and glowed red. She carefully touched one and found they were as cool and cold as a normal cave rock._

" _That's weird," she muttered._

 _She carefully walked forward. When she reached a dead end, she saw a red, glowing stone sitting in a ring of burning fire. The flames weren't too high, but it still worried her to get too close._

" _Hurry, Akiza. Retrieve the stone," called a voice. "I need you… We all need you."_

" _I don't understand," Akiza responded._

" _Retrieve the stone, Akiza," it responded. "Retrieve the stone and all will be set right."_

" _Huh?" she questioned._

 _. . . ._

 _-Crow-_

 _Crow walked around through almost pitch black pathways. There was barely any light, but he saw some in the distance. He could see a few black colored birds of some kind sitting on the ledges around the ceiling of the cave system._

" _What is this place?" he wondered._

 _Suddenly, he found himself close to the corner leading into the lit room. He cautiously turned the corner to see it had torches along the walls of the circular cave. In the far back, though, was a pedestal that had a black, white glowing stone in a nest of black mist. However, on either side of the pedestal was a statue seeming similar in design to Blackwing Armor Master with it kneeling and its wings wrapped around it._

 _Suddenly a voice called, "Hurry, Crow. Retrieve the stone. I need you… We all need you."_

. . . .

All six of the Signers woke up and got out of their beds. When they met in the living room, they immediately mentioned their dreams. When they finished explaining each of their dreams, Leo asked, "But wait, how could we all have dreams so similar?"

"I'm not really sure, Leo," Yusei answered. "I'm more concerned about that voice and what it was saying."

"Yeah," Akiza agreed. "Who needs us and what do they need us for?"

"Let's get some breakfast first," Crow suggested. "We can talk about this later. I'm sure it'll come up at some point."

"I guess," Yusei agreed. But he was worried about the dreams they had. _'Whatever they meant, it can't be good. Does it have to do with the climate changes that have been going on?'_ he thought.

After they ate, they hung around for a bit. They didn't have a lot planned today. This day was meant to be for just a small break.

Suddenly, though, a knock came at their door. They looked as a note came from under the doorway. Yusei got up and grabbed it. He opened it.

"What's it say, Yusei?" Leo asked.

"It says: ' _ **I need your help, Signers. Everyone in this world does. Meet me at the end of the pier by the boat named Erietta. I'll take you to the place where I'll explain everything you have to know. Please come. You're the world's only hope. Signed, Keeper of the Ruins**_ '," he read.

"Keeper of the Ruins?" Leo commented. "What ruins?"

"Let's meet with this person and find out," Crow suggested. "They may know exactly what those dreams were about, too."

"Right," Yusei agreed while the others nodded in their own agreement. Once they were each ready to go, they left for the pier.


	2. Hidden History

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 2: Hidden History

They quickly reached the pier where they looked at all the boats. "They said the end of the pier, right?" Akiza asked.

"Yeah," Yusei answered. "And by a boat called the Erietta."

They cautiously walked to the end of the pier. It didn't take them long, though, before they noticed the boat with the name behind it, " _ **Erietta**_ ". They turned as a young woman, only about seventeen, walked out from the ship.

"Don't waste any time, do you?" she asked with an amused grin. "Come on up. I'll take you to the ruins." Yusei and the others carefully climbed onto the ship as the girl untied the boat before calling up to someone at the wheel, "Alright, Domo! Take us out!" The ship began to slowly leave port. She turned back to the Signers. "Hello, Signers, I am Keeo Alterine, one of the final Keepers of the Ruins. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"What's at the ruins? And why haven't we heard about them?" Yusei asked.

"The Ruins of Dolmatriona are one of a kind and hold the history of a civilization far beyond our knowledge," Keeo began. She had them sit on a seat in the front of the ship as it began to move faster. "It may be only about a fifteen minute boat ride to the ruins, but they are usually forbidden for any outsiders to come to. Only the Keepers of the Ruins may allow outsiders to come to the ruins and witness them. You are the first outsiders to come to the ruins in about fifty years."

"Why can't outsiders go to the ruins?" Crow asked.

"And how do you become a Keeper?" Akiza asked.

"Many outsiders come to find the treasure deep within and take it for their own needs. The treasures within hold a great power. A power that balances the world's natural forces when together. It is the Keeper's job to protect these treasures. However, about three months ago, an outsider found their way to the ruins and took one of the great forces. We managed to retrieve it back with the help of many people. We lost several Keepers along the way. We had hoped that by returning it to its original and important place, it would reverse the effects it had since it left that would put the world out of balance. We placed it back to its spot and things seemed to return to normal, but we found the energy was too unstable by the time we put it back. The only hope now is to combine the energies of all of them. That should return the balance of the power and the world's life."

"That sounds easy enough for you to do. Why do you need us?" Jack asked.

"Not anyone can bring forth the energies of the treasures, Jack Atlas," Keeo replied. "I will explain to you everything else when we reach the ruins. It will be much easier to explain there." She looked followed by the others as they saw another, smaller island coming into view. But it was like a small mountain that had a temple ingrained within it.

The boat came to a stop at the docks and a young man, seeming the same age as Keeo, stepped to them. He and Keeo tied the boat in place. Once they were secured to the docks, the man introduced, "Hello. I know you heard Keeo call to me, but I am Domo Eltock. I am a Keeper of the Ruins as well."

"It's nice to meet you," Akiza responded.

"Follow us. We will lead you through the ruins," Keeo told them and they walked.

They went through a small forest and then up some rock-made stairs. It was about a five minute climb before they entered a doorway. When they entered, the others looked around in awe.

The walls were decorated with all sorts of drawings, depicting several areas of history. Against the far back wall from them were six throne like seats. On the top of each backing was a symbol. On the center throne was a six-pointed star; On the throne to the first left of that seemed to be a flame; On the throne just to the right of the center one was a lightning bolt; On the one on the final right was a leaf; On the second to last left was a cloud; And on the final throne was a circle.

"Those thrones belonged to the original Priests and Keepers of this place and the treasures," Domo explained. "The original Keepers were the only ones in history who could bring forth the energy of the treasures."

"What are these 'treasures' exactly?" Yusei asked. "And what do they have to do with us?"

"Follow us to the prophecy room," Keeo told them. They nodded and slowly followed her through the hallways that seemed just as amazing as the rest of the place. There were statues here and there of different sentinel looking people. There were six of the different types in a row before repeating the pattern again. Crow recognized one of them as from his dream, only it was standing up.

"Anyone feel like those statues are watching us?" Luna asked.

"Those are the Statues of the Protectors," Domo told them.

"The Protectors were the ones who guarded the treasures and the Priests from harm. They would keep a vigilant eye especially on the Priests and those the Priests gave offspring to," Keeo continued.

"Why focus on the offspring as well?" Jack asked.

"Every offspring of the Priests receives the gift to bring forth the energy of the treasures," Domo answered. "Dolmatriona was a peaceful kingdom. So when another kingdom came and attacked this land, they had no way to truly defend themselves. But they were successful in fighting off the attackers and saved the temple."

"However, in the final days of Dolmatriona, the Priests decided to send their children into the world, away from here to ensure the legacy of the Priests and their gifts would be safe until they were needed again," Keeo finished.

They turned to a large door and entered a room.


	3. Prophecy

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 3: Prophecy

Immediately across from them, along the wall, seemed to be a drawing with writing on it. It had six people lined up along the walls with the symbols from the thrones above their heads. Above that seemed to be a curtain blocking something.

"Before they lost their civilization and had to flee the island, leaving the few trusted people who became the Keepers of the Ruins behind, the Priests left a prophecy for us to see for the ages to come," Domo responded.

"What's it say exactly?" Crow asked.

Keeo pointed to the writing. "' _ **By the will of men, the balance shall break. Heat will rise, oceans will grow, the world becoming death's gate. The Priests' offspring will return the balance. But the stones must first call upon their presence. In the heart of the offspring, the power shall lay. Bring forth the powers of the stones, they may.**_ '," she read.

"Are you saying we're the Priests' offspring?" Jack asked shocked.

"You are," Keeo answered.

"How do you know that for a certain fact?" Yusei asked.

"You are the first outsiders to ever know of this," Domo responded. "The Dolmatriona people were aligned with the People of the Stars. They shared their skills and beliefs, even if they differed in some way." Keeo pulled back the curtain to show just above each symbol and person, a Mark of the Dragon was above each one. They went wide eyed in shock. "The Crimson Dragon chooses the Signers not only on the good they have done and will do and their abilities, but it also chooses based on your ancestry. The Crimson Dragon has only ever chosen the Priests' offspring as the Signers." All six of the Signers looked at their marks in shock. "You are the Priests' offspring and the only ones who can bring forth the energy of the treasures, the stones spoken of in the prophecy, to bring balance to their energies and the world."

"So that's why those statues seemed like they were watching us," Luna realized as they all turned back to the Keepers. "They were making sure we stayed safe."

"Exactly," Keeo responded. "Even after death, the Protectors still share that urge to protect the Priests and their offspring."

"So, how are we supposed to know these stones called our presence?" Crow asked.

"You already know," Domo replied.

"In our dreams…" Yusei realized. "Those dreams we had were the stones calling us."

"You are correct," Keeo responded. "The prophecy has come to light and the only ones who can save the world from annihilation are you. Without you, no hope remains."

"We'll help," Akiza agreed while the others nodded.

"Thank you, Signers and Priests," Keeo responded while she and Domo bowed a bit in respect. "Before you embark on your journey to retrieve your stones, you must understand that their will be dangers for each stone."

"What kind of dangers?" Yusei asked.

"Each danger varies between each stone. And you are connected to one stone. You can combine their energies when you have all six of them together," Domo responded.

"Yusei, you are connected to the Stone of the Stars," Keeo told him. "Your stone is the catalyst between all the stones. Without its balance, all the stones' energies will collapse as will the world. We're lucky it was not the stone that was stolen, or else the results would be much more dire. The stone must be protected at all costs."

"Right," he agreed.

"Akiza, you are connected to the Stone of Fire," Domo told her. "Fire cannot harm you while you are in the cave of this stone. But it is dangerous as when you hold its power, you can activate it at your will and control fire as you wish. You must learn to not activate this power by accident before combining the energies." She nodded.

"Jack, you are connected to the Stone of Lightning and Energy," Keeo continued. "Your stone is what gave electricity and energy to the Dolmatriona, even in their period of time. However, like Akiza's, you can bring about lightning with the snap of your fingers while you hold it. So be careful."

"For you, Crow, you are connected to the Stone of Shadows," Domo told him. "While you hold this stone, you can turn invisible on a whim. But if this stone breaks in the slightest bit, the shadows within it can destroy the world. So be cautious while holding it."

"Luna," Keeo called. "You are connected to the Stone of Nature. Plants will do whatever you call upon them to do as long as you hold this stone. Protect you from harm and any sort of danger. But if you break it at all, all nature in the world will immediately die." She went wide eyed in shock and worry.

Domo looked at the last one. "And Leo, you are connected to the Stone of Earth," he told him. "While you hold this stone, earth and metal will bend to your will and do whatever you ask. But one mistake that breaks the stone at all and all rock and earthen layers will fall and crumble apart. Every ground of which you stand on will disappear. So be careful as well."

"R-Right," he agreed a bit nervous.

"So how do we find these stones?" Yusei asked.

"Each Stone of Balance is in its own cave within the island," Keeo explained. "To find your stone, you will each need to find the place to start. Yusei, your stone is within a cave at the top of the mountain here. There is a stairwell here that will lead you to the top of the ruins. But after that, you must find your way to the cave. Akiza, yours is deep beneath the temple, in the Tunnels of Fire. We have a staircase leading to the tunnels for you to start. Luna, yours is in a hidden cavern in the forest. You will have to trust your instincts to guide you to it. Leo, yours is within the mountain as well, but more around the middle or base. You must trust your instincts as well to guide yourself there. Jack, yours is within a hidden cave in the ruins. You must find your way there. And Crow, your cave will only open and reveal itself when the sun is at the point when the island's south side is completely shadowed and dark. You will need to get there and out before the sun shows itself on the south side. After that, you will be stuck until tomorrow."

"Why can't you show us to these places?" Crow asked. "I mean, you seem to know where they are."

"We only know the area of where they are because of the scriptures written. And it was Akiza's stone that was taken by the man. So we know the exact place the stone is in; however, we cannot show her the way. The stone will only respond to her if she finds the way on her own," Domo told them. "You are on your own in these quests. These dangers will be high, but you will succeed in the end. The prophecy says it."

"Well, show Akiza and I the way," Yusei told them.

"Agreed. Crow is the one who is really on a time crunch," Keeo responded. "The south side will be in shadows within the next hour. We will get you to the entrance on the south side of the island, Crow. But that's as far as we can go for you."

"That'll help, at least," the bird named man responded.

"Leo, Luna, head to where your hearts lead you outside. Jack, you may roam the ruins as you wish to find the cave. Remember, trust your inner self to find it, not just your mind," Keeo told him. They nodded and all went their separate ways. "You three, follow us. We'll show Crow first."

"Right," Yusei agreed.

They walked through the ruins until they reached another staircase that led down the mountain. It was much steeper than the other one, though. "That's a steep staircase," Crow commented.

"It's either this staircase or the one of the opposite side of the island," Domo responded.

"I'm going," Crow retorted.

"Be careful, Crow," Yusei told him.

"Hey, I'm not the one going up a mountain," he responded.

Yusei shook his head a bit before turning to follow Keeo and Domo to his staircase with Akiza. When they arrived at the staircase, Domo told him, "This staircase will lead you to the top of the ruins. After that, you must find your way to the peak of the mountain. When you reach the peak, find the cave and retrieve the stone. Bring it back to the ruins and we'll lead you to the chamber where the stones will combine their energies and bring balance to the world again."

Yusei nodded. He turned to Akiza as she hugged him and she whispered, "Good luck."

"You too, Akiza," he responded before leaving and heading up the staircase.

Akiza followed Keeo and Domo through the halls. "So, are you two the only ones here?" she asked the two.

"There is another Keeper here. But she is old and ill. I'm afraid she may be dying soon enough," Domo answered. "She is, actually, mine and Keeo's mother."

"I thought you two have different last names," Akiza questioned.

"Different fathers," Keeo explained.

"So, your family has lived down here for generations all the time?" Akiza asked.

"Yes," Keeo answered. "We rarely leave the ruins. We can only leave if something important comes up. Such as retrieving you six at the pier. But that is the first time we have left the ruins in years."

"I see," Akiza responded. They stopped at a doorway and opened it, showing a staircase with torches along the walls to give it light.

"Go down, Akiza, and retrieve the Stone of Fire," Domo told her. "Be warned, the Stone of Fire's trials are dangerous and could result in death. But you need to face them for the sake of our planet."

"Al-Alright," she agreed.

"Good luck, Akiza," Keeo told her before Akiza turned and cautiously made her way down.

"Think they'll be okay?" Domo asked once Akiza was well out of sight.

"Yes," Keeo replied. "The ancients have foretold it."


	4. Stone of Earth

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 4: Stone of Earth

Leo and Luna walked along the staircase heading towards the base of the mountain. Once they neared the ground, Leo began to feel something pulling him to a path just above him. He paused and looked in its direction.

"Something wrong, Leo?" Luna asked.

"I feel like something is pulling me that way," he answered pointing in the direction of the path.

"It's probably your stone. You go that way. I'll be fine on my own," Luna told him.

"Are you sure?" Leo checked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You need to find your stone anyway," Luna answered. "Keeo and Domo did say we needed to trust our instincts to guide us to our stones. If your instincts are pulling you that way, then you should go that way."

"Alright," Leo agreed. "Be careful."

"You too, Leo," Luna responded before continuing her walk down the stairs and into the forest.

Leo turned and walked along the rocky path. It slowly increased in height above the forest. It was worrying Leo a bit as it seemed to get higher and higher. Suddenly, Leo froze, barely avoiding a giant gap in the pathway. He looked down the gap to see it a straight fall down the cliffside. He turned and noticed a thin ledge along the side of the cliff on his level.

"This is not going to be fun," Leo muttered.

He carefully placed a foot on the ledge and found it stable. He took brought his other foot next to it and heard a couple crumbles of rock slip out under his feet. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself.

Leo took another step and the rocks immediately fell apart as his toe touched it. He quickly pulled his foot back to where it originally was. He then slid another, smaller step to just next to the gap. It didn't crumble at all and held strong as he brought his other foot next to it. He sighed a bit in relief that it was strong.

He carefully and lightly stepped over the gap and cautiously placed the foot down and it was stable. He looked to see how close he was and was still slightly concerned as he still had a few more feet. He brought his other foot beside his one of the other side of the gap and looked at the place where his foot was between to the two stable ledges.

Leo took a deep breath again and continued his trek to the stable pathway he was heading to. His final step onto stable land ended with the last bit of ledge he was on to crumble apart and fell into the deep abyss of rock below just as he stepped off it.

"That was too close," he muttered.

Leo turned to continue his work along the pathway. After a few minutes, he looked as he saw a cave coming into view and gave a heavy sigh of relief. He cautiously but hurriedly made his way to the cave. When he came to the mouth of it, he looked at the top to see a circle mark, like the one symbolizing the Stone of Earth's holder.

' _This is it,'_ Leo thought. He stepped into the cave slowly. It was relatively dark, but once in a while there was a crack in the wall of the cave, letting sunlight in. He looked around a bit nervous. Along the walls, though, were crystals of all colors that shimmered and sparkled within the sunlight.

Suddenly, a rock tumbled to across the ground from around the corner. Leo looked at it a bit in shock. He turned the corner as the sound of another rock tumbling across the ground was heard. But this time, he didn't see any rock tumbling.

As he made the final corner, he saw it. A light shined on the stone from his dream. A glowing, brown stone that was a sphere about the size of his thumb in size. It was surrounded with a crystal dome that had its roof open. He looked at it cautiously.

Slowly, he reached his hand in and just as he was in finger's reach, the crystal surrounding it clamped down around his hand, locking it in place. He tried to pull it out, but to no avail.

"This is just great," Leo commented in annoyance. He sighed and began to think. "Wait! What was it that Domo said about my power when holding the stone?"

He searched for a moment before remembering it. He stretched his hand as far as he could until his fingers managed to grasp the stone. It shined brighter for a moment, almost blinding the boy.

"Let my hand go!" he ordered. The crystal holding his hand in place released its hold and pulled back. Leo pulled out his hand and the stone and looked at the glowing stone in relief.

" _You have found me…"_ came a soft voice. _"Use my power to protect the world, Leo. Before it is too late."_

Leo wasn't entirely sure what he just heard, but nodded and turned to walked out when rocks blocked his exit. He focused and told the rocks, "Move." They did as they were told and made an opening for him. He wasn't sure if the rocks hadn't realized who he was in the first place or if he needed to focus more on keeping that aware towards any earth material around him. He began to walked through the tunnel again.

When he exited, he was relieved to see full sunlight yet again. He looked at the stone in his hand. It glowed a bit more as if telling them it needed to hurry. He held it close to his chest to ensure it wouldn't leave his grip without him knowing.

He eventually found his way back to the familiar gap which was now totally impassable. _'Without the stone at least…'_ Leo thought. He got closer to the ground and said, "Connect this bridge again." The rocks from the cliff extended and the pathway was totally fixed, seeming like it was never ruined before. He made his way across, telling it, "Thanks."

He then hurried towards the ruins again. _"You are a good Priest,"_ came the voice again. Leo looked at the stone for a second. _"Yes, I am speaking to you. Each stone has its own sentient life force in it. We have our own life and mind, and are forever bonded to you and your offspring for the rest of time. That is why we are able to contact you for your presence when we want it. It is not the will of the Crimson Dragon; it is the will of all of us, together. But we can only speak to those we are connected to."_

"That's a bit weird," Leo commented.

The stone gave a small, amused laugh. _"Perhaps it is,"_ it responded.

Leo turned as he reached the staircase again. "Well, let's take this to the ruins," he commented.

" _Be careful, Leo. Things aren't always as they seem,"_ the Stone of Earth told him. _"Trust only the other Priests and your stones."_

"What about Keeo and Domo?" Leo questioned.

" _Be careful with them, Leo. There is something about their presence that I do not like,"_ it replied. _"The other Priests and stones are the only ones you can trust."_

"Why are you calling us all Priests, anyway? It's not like we're trained or anything at this. We're just trying to protect the world," Leo asked.

" _Since the ancient times, you become an official Priest by facing the trials and harnessing our powers,"_ the Stone of Earth explained. _"You have done so. And your friends will do so if they haven't already. As such, you are a Priest by the rights of the ancients."_

"Okay, I guess," Leo agreed.

" _Be ready, Leo. You aren't even at the end of this trial,"_ the Stone of Earth warned.


	5. Stone of Nature

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 5: Stone of Nature

Luna walked around the forest slowly, trying to get an idea of where exactly the hidden cavern would be. She sighed a bit. _'Trust your instincts,'_ she thought. She was kind of wishing she had her deck so her duel monsters could help her out, but she had left it at the hotel along with the others to not risk anything happening to them.

Luna closed her eyes and focused for a moment. She slowly felt a pull in one direction. She opened her eyes and turned to the direction. She slowly walked that way, letting her instincts guide her as she was told to by Keeo and Domo.

She slowly walked towards a cliffside that had moss and vines hung along the entirety of it. That's when she heard it: whispers. Little whispers in the distance. She felt against the wall in front of her, only to stumble a bit through the vines.

Luna looked around the new area, finding it just like her dream. It was covered in greenery and moss and light shined in front the ceiling here and there. She walked through slowly, looking at everything around her.

"Wow…" she muttered in pure awe.

She heard the whispering again, only a bit louder. She looked forward when she saw the green, glowing stone from her dream, sitting in the same spot and area as it. It was a sphere by looks and its size was about the size of her thumb. Luna carefully reached for it when some vines from around the ledge grabbed her arm and pulled her to the ground on her hand and knees.

"Hey, let me go!" Luna called pulling at the vines. But they refused to even give an inch of length. Luna reached up towards the stone, trying to grab her from her place on the ground. She was able to get her fingertips on the edge of it and began to inch the stone closer. "Come on…" she muttered. Suddenly, it dropped off the edge. Before it could hit the ground, though, Luna grabbed it, saving it from any damage. It glowed bright at her touch and once it dimmed the slightest bit, she ordered the plants, "Alright, let go of me." The vine didn't hesitate and let go of her arm, allowing her to get back up. "Let's get out of here before I get trapped again."

She ran out and as soon as she was out, Luna heard the voice from her dream, _"You have found me!"_ Luna looked at the stone. _"Yes, I can speak to you. I have a sentient life force within me. It is how I and the other stones contacted you and are connected to you. Use my power to protect the world. But beware of those who seem to want to help. They are wolves in sheeps' clothing; they are dangerous. Trust only yourself and your fellow Priests."_

"What about Keeo and Domo? They're Keepers of the Ruins," Luna questioned.

" _Be very careful around them. They seek to do more harm than good,"_ the Stone of Nature replied, worrying the girl. _"I can only talk to you, so you may have to repeat this knowledge to the other Priests. Be careful, Luna. This is only a step in the staircase of your journey."_

"Alright, let's get to the ruins. Meet with the others there," Luna decided.

" _Right,"_ the Stone of Nature agreed and they took off towards the ruins together.


	6. Stone of Lightning and Energy

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 6: Stone of Lightning and Energy

Jack slowly walked through the halls of the ruins. Everything seemed amazing here with so many different and historical drawings. But it was huge once you started walking within it even more than before; He didn't know how Keeo and Domo managed to memorize their way around this place.

"Where on Earth am I supposed to find a hidden cave in here?" Jack muttered. "Am I even going the right way?"

He turned as he heard an electric crackling sound a bit farther down. He looked around a bit when he noticed a small lightning bolt on the wall, anyone would miss it at first glance. He touched the lightning bolt and felt an energy surge within him, but nothing opened.

Jack looked around for something to open it when he noticed the sun shining against the floor. _'This must only open when the sun's hitting it,'_ he thought.

"I can't wait here that long, though," he began. He then noticed a shrine that had a mirror on it that would obviously reflect the light. He grabbed the mirror and kneeled towards the sunlight. He placed the mirror and began to angle the light bouncing off of it around the wall. "Come on already…" he muttered.

Eventually, the light hit the symbol and the symbol grew bright. After a few seconds of holding it there, the light shot out in the form of a doorway before the wall retracted to the right and left to leave an opening. Jack put the mirror back exactly as he left it and walked through the tunnel.

The tunnels crackled with power and sparked with electricity here and there. Jack stepped on something and barely missed being hit with two lightning bolts coming from behind and directly in front of him.

Jack sighed in relief he didn't get hit. He carefully and cautiously kneeled down a bit and snuck under the lightning bolt in front of him. He then began his walk through the tunnel again, being a lot more cautious as he stepped through the tunnel and paying close attention where exactly he stepped.

He heard another crackle of electricity and saw a flickering light in the distance. He slowly stepped towards it and when he reached the end of the tunnel, he found himself in a circular room with a ledge holding the glowing, yellow stone surrounded by a small ring of lightning. The stone was in the shape of a perfect sphere and was about the size of the length between the center of his thumb and the tip of it.

When Jack reached towards the stone, a bolt of lightning was shot at him from the ring which he just barely managed to avoid. He growled a bit in frustration before with lightning fast speeds grabbed the Stone of Lightning and Energy from its placement.

Jack sighed when he turned and saw several bolts of lightning form and block the exit point. He looked at the stone glowed brighter in his hold. He turned back and looked at the lightning. He snapped his fingers and a bolt of lightning shot the the stone he was holding. It pierced a hole in the electricity that was big enough for him, but it quickly closed again.

Jack took a deep breath and got a bit closer to the lightning bolts. He snapped his fingers again and the hole reopened. He hurriedly stepped through the hole and walked again.

When he reached the exit leading back into the ruins, he saw the same thing again. Jack did the same actions as before only this time the lightning moved within the current of the wall of lightning bolts.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Jack asked himself.

" _Hold me in the center of the lightning,"_ came a voice. Jack looked at the stone. _"Yes, I can talk to you. But we can focus on that later."_ The Signer turned as he noticed the lightning wall from behind him beginning to move towards him. _"Place me in the center of the lightning wall. Quickly!"_ Jack didn't question it as the approaching lightning was getting to close. He put the stone in the center of the wall in front of him. It grew bright before the wall retracted. Jack stepped out just as the wall behind him hit the edge of the tunnel. The doorway then shut behind him. _"That was close…"_

"Thanks," Jack told the stone.

" _You are the Priest of Lightning and Energy. I must protect you so you can protect the world,"_ the Stone of Lightning and Energy responded. _"You must hurry back before the world gets ruined by the will of that man who took Fire. Now it is up to you to fix it. But beware of the wolves in sheeps' clothing. Beware of those who call themselves trustworthy. Only trust yourself, the stones, and your fellow Priests."_

"What's wrong with Keeo and Domo?" Jack asked.

" _They hide their true intentions with the intentions they wish were true,"_ the stone explained. _"You will learn from them when it is time, Jack. Now, hurry. The other stones and I can only be combined and bring balance again during the Time of Descent and Rise."_

"Time of Descent and Rise? Like the sunset?" Jack asked.

" _The sunset is the modern term for the Time of Descent and Rise, I suppose. There is only one moment where the sun and moon cross at this time and it is very hard to get right. You must be ready to combine our energies by then, or else you will not be able to do it. And by tomorrow, it will be too late,"_ it replied.

"Right," Jack answered. "Let's go, then." He hurried off to meet with the others with the stone held close.


	7. Stone of Fire

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 7: Stone of Fire

Akiza slowly made her way down the staircase, not touching the walls that seemed to get hotter and hotter the longer she made her way down. She knew Domo and Keeo had said once she reached the Stone of Fire's cave, fire couldn't hurt her, but that was in its cave, not the tunnels.

When Akiza finally reached the bottom of the stairs, she looked around. It was obscenely hot down here, but she didn't pay it any mind. She wasn't too sure how the stones weren't completely steaming down here, but they did give a soft glow.

She carefully made her way down the tunnels, looking at everything around her. But she quickly came to a stop when she found a lava pit in her path, completely making it around the entire hallway until it became a pathway again.

But there were several glowing stones here and there floating on the lava, in a puzzle like design with it forming a three-by-four rectangle. Akiza, however, grabbed a small pebble from the ground and threw it onto a stone just in front of her. It landed and nothing happened.

She grabbed another and threw it to the stone on the right, closest to her. The rock immediately collapsed into the lava. Akiza took a few deep breaths to keep herself level-minded. She looked around and grabbed about ten more stones before hopping onto the floating stone she knew was stable.

She picked up the pebble she threw on it and put it on the one to her left. It stayed stable. She then threw another on the one directly in front of her and it collapsed. She hopped onto the next stable stone. She grabbed the pebble on that one and threw it on the one in front of her. It thankfully didn't collapse.

' _Halfway there,'_ she thought to comfort herself, but it still seemed so far away.

She hopped onto the last one she checked and picked up the pebble. Akiza threw it onto the next one in front of her. It collapsed into the lava again. She turned to the one to the right and diagonal from her and threw one of the pebbles in her hand. It stayed stable. Having nowhere else to go, she hopped onto that one.

She picked up the pebble on it and looked at each stone in front of her. The last three stones. One was stable; the other two weren't. Added, they were a bit farther away from her. She then looked at the pebbles in her hand and the one she just picked up. She turned to the right one, throwing the pebble on it and it fell into the lava. She turned to the left and found it was almost stable, but it did wobble a bit. She turned to the one in front of her which collapsed.

' _Of course,'_ she thought slightly annoyed, but more worried. _'And the edge to the rest of the hallway is definitely too far to risk jumping. Only one way, then…'_ She turned to the final stone. _'I need to time this perfectly. I can do this, I can do this…'_

She took a couple more deep breaths. She jumped with one foot onto the wobbly stone before pushing off and landing on the rest of the hallway's stable and non-lava ground. She looked behind her as the stone fell into the lava. She didn't know how she was going to get back, but she will have to try when it comes time.

Akiza continued onward through the tunnels. She saw the cave coming into view as she made the final turn and sighed in relief. She hurried into the cave and felt the heat grow a bit more and looked to see the red, glowing stone sitting there in a small ring of fire.

' _Fire cannot hurt me in this cave,'_ she reminded herself. _'I just hope Keeo and Domo were right about that.'_

But to be certain, she lifted her hand and angled her arm so it was above the flames. She noticed the fire begin to flick around, seeming nervous, as she reached closer to the stone. Some of the flames hit her wrist but she felt nothing, her glove didn't even burn.

She grabbed the stone and the fire grew in intensity, but didn't harm her in any way. She pulled the stone out. She looked at the stone as it glowed brighter than before in her hands, seeming to acknowledge that she was holding it. It was a perfectly shaped sphere that was the size of her thumb.

Akiza ran out of the cave when a giant creature made of lava stepped in her way. It growled at her in warning. She focused and fire in the form of a whip formed in her hand, not even burning her. No doubt because she was holding the stone and the one who conjured the fire.

She prepared her whip, but the creature seemed to back up and bowed its head in respect. "Priest," it greeted with a rough, deep voice. "Save the world as you must. Protect the stone at all costs, though." It made way for Akiza.

"I will," Akiza answered before running passed it. When she reached the lava pit from before, she noticed the entirety of lava was gone. _'Was that lava from here that creature hiding?'_ she wondered. She looked at the ground again and was relieved to see it had completely cooled since the creature's leaving. She stepped down into it and quickly ran to the other side.

When she reached the other side, she fast-walked to the staircase before carefully stepped up it, wanting to be certain there was no chance for the stone to accidently slip out of her hand and break.

" _Akiza, be careful,"_ came the voice from her dreams pulling her to a stop. She looked around before turning to the stone. _"Yes, I can talk to you. But only you. Be careful of those you choose to trust, Priest Akiza. Only trust yourself, the stones, and the other Priests."_

"Why can't I trust Keeo and Domo? They want us to save the world with you. That's why they brought us to the ruins," Akiza questioned.

" _They do want to protect the world. But they want something else as well,"_ the Stone of Fire replied.

"What?" Akiza asked, confused at the sudden pause.

" _I do not know their full goal, but I do know they wish to retrieve our combined energy and use it for their own interests. That cannot happen,"_ it explained. _"If they ask you for our combined energy, do not allow them to have it. Only trust your fellow Priests and the Stones of Balance. The Priests and us are the only ones you'll ever be able to trust on the matter of protecting the world."_

"I… I understand," Akiza agreed. "Let's get to the main ground of the ruins, for now, though."

" _I agree. And you must hurry on combining the energy,"_ the Stone of Fire told her. _"It can only be done when the sun and moon cross."_

"I didn't think they did," Akiza questioned.

" _They do. But only for three minutes and only at dusk and dawn. If you do not combine our energies by this time tonight, the world will be lost,"_ the stone told her.

"Then we'd better hurry," the Signer responded before continuing her walk up the stairs, only a bit faster.


	8. Stone of the Stars

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 8: Stone of the Stars

Yusei came up on the top of the ruins. The view was amazing and the wind that blew in his hair was calming. _'This isn't the time to sightsee, though,'_ he thought. He turned to the mountain behind him and noticed the height. He peered closer and noticed a cave just under the peak. The mountain wasn't very high compared to others, but it was still fairly high. He looked around and noticed a pathway that seemed to move around the mountain in a spiral, but it was broken a good fifty feet up. _'How am I going to get all the way up there, then?'_

He looked around for anything that would help him. He turned to seeing the sun beginning to descend and the shadow of the south side beginning to grow. He looked over the edge and noticed Crow finishing his walk down the stairs.

"Alright," Yusei commented turning back to the mountain. "Only one way up." He went to the mountain side next to him and carefully placed a foot on the edge. _'Okay, I can do this. I just have to reach that pathway and I can probably get to the cave from there without a problem.'_

He began his climb, slowly working his way up the mountain side. He got a good ten feet up and looked down where he came. There was no easy way back down after this. He wasn't even sure how he was going to climb back down with the stone with him. He couldn't risk it getting hurt at all, if Keeo and Domo were right with its importance.

But there was something about Keeo and Domo. They seemed to be hiding something. And Yusei wasn't sure whether to be cautious of it or go with them. Was it something that could help? Or was it something dark? Or was it-

"Whoa!" Yusei exclaimed, barely catching himself from falling as a rock underneath his foot crumbled. He took a few deep breaths to calm his rapid heartbeat, getting his grip and body on the rock back in his control.

Once Yusei calmed his heartbeat, he continued his climb up. It took him a good fifteen minutes before he reached the pathway. He had nearly stepped on a loose rock a couple times, but he managed.

Once Yusei was securely on the pathway, he sighed in relief, looking down as to where he came from. He could not fall at all from here. It would only end in his own demise. He carefully began his trek up the long pathway that wound around the mountain. On the rocky side of the mountain along the pathway, though, were unlit torches that sat in well-made and still well-conditioned metal holders.

Yusei paused, however, finding the pathway broken a great deal. Jumping would be suicide with the size of the gap. He couldn't see many ways over. The only things were the torches.

' _You have got to be kidding me,'_ he thought, knowing the only thing he could do was. _'I really hope these stones can save the world from this problem.'_

He grabbed the closest torch by its handle and kept a firm grip on it. With a small grunt, he swung himself and grabbed the other torch next to it. He then swung himself again, bringing his hand to grasping the next one.

Yusei looked down for a moment at the sheer drop he would face if he lost his grip. He swung himself again to the next torch, grabbing it. He swung again and grabbed the next one.

' _Two more swings and I'll be at safe ground,'_ he thought to give himself any sort of reassurance. He swung those last two times quite fast and set his foot on stable ground.

When he let go of the last torch, he stretched and moved his arms a bit to give them some sort of relaxation after the stress he just put of them. _'Okay… Let's hope there aren't anymore of those types of problems coming up,'_ Yusei thought. _'And let's hope the challenges I'll face in the cave won't be so dangerous.'_

With his arms back to feeling normal and in shape, Yusei continued his walk towards the cave at the peak. Suddenly, he passed another cave that was on the side the moon rose on in the north and heard a whistle within it. He paused and looked in its direction.

"That's the same sound I heard in my dream,"he thought. He looked at the top of the mouth and noticed something covered in dust and dirt. He reached up and carefully wiped it off. He went a bit wide eyed in shock as he saw the six pointed star that was the symbol for the Stone of the Stars.

' _If the others needed to trust their instincts to find their stones, I need to trust mine too,'_ he thought. _'And my instincts have rarely, if ever, let me down. And they're pointing me to this cave.'_

Yusei took a deep breath before slowly stepping in. Once he was completely in, he noticed the sun was still peaking in. But he turned abruptly as he noticed the entrance shutting with a rock wall sliding up in front of it. Once it was completely closed, though, the walls broke the pitch black darkness with thousands of glowing white and light blue gems along the walls.

"Definitely the place," he muttered under his breath. He carefully walked through the halls, following the whistle that kept calling him.

" _He's definitely the one…"_ called a soft voice that echoed in the halls. It sounded young but wise, like someone his age, but it was too quiet to tell much detail in it. _"He's here to protect the world."_

"Is anyone there?" Yusei called tense.

" _Find me, Yusei. I am nearby. But be wary, these caves can read one's mind and make them fight their most inner demons if they so choose,"_ the voice told him.

' _Is that the stone?'_ he thought uncertain. _'If it is and it's right, I definitely have to be careful.'_

" _Keep a clear mind, Yusei,"_ the voice told him.

"A clear mind?" he questioned before he heard a familiar laugh. He flipped around and saw a black mist block his view of the entire cave, forcing him to the ground.

When it disappeared, he found himself in front of the People of the Stars' temple where Goodwin's mansion once sat. Goodwin was laughing in success while Yusei looked around to see his friends either dead or barely gone. He hurriedly got up in shock.

"What's going on?" he muttered.

"Oh? I thought you were dead, Yusei," Goodwin called down. The Signer looked at the Dark Signer with a glare. "I guess you really don't know when to die. You certainly are a stubborn soul." Yusei turned to see the King of the Underworld ridiculously close. It was practically at the temple. "Why keep fighting? Your friends are gone, your bonds are worthless trash now. You won't succeed against me. You know that as well as I do."

Yusei looked down in thought. _'This can't be real. I was just in the cave to find the Stone of the Stars. But it feels real. It looks real. What did the stone say? I would face my "most inner demons". It told me to keep a clear mind, too.'_ He went wide eyed in realization. _'It was warning me this would happen! I'm having to face a fear I haven't even acknowledged, yet! But what's this demon?'_

"Thinking of submitting yourself to the King of the Underworld, Yusei?" Goodwin asked. "Your bonds are lost. They cannot help you now."

Yusei looked at him. "No," he answered calmly. "I don't care if my friends aren't physically by my side. Their spirits and their bonds to me are, even after death. That's the thing about bonds that you don't seem to get. No matter what happens, we keep those bonds we make. My bonds to Jack, Crow, Akiza, Leo, Luna, Mina, and Trudge… they're still there." He pointed to his heart. "They're still in my heart. Their spirits are still beside me."

"Oh, Yusei," Goodwin called mockingly. "You don't seem to understand. Their spirits are now suffering in the Underworld. They can't be beside you."

"You don't understand, Goodwin," he retorted. "Roman lost to me and he's still right by your side. You don't want to acknowledge it. His bond is still there with you, keeping his spirit by your side."

"You're wrong!" the Dark Signer fought. "To prove your friends' bonds are no longer by your side…" He directed the Underworld King to Yusei. "Take his soul from him! Take him as a sacrifice!" The King of the Underworld fired at the Signer. But a blue-white glow surrounded Yusei's body and the blast was merely reflected back, hitting the dark being firing at him. "What in…?!"

' _Is the stone… protecting me through this vision?'_ he thought. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and mind.

"That can't be possible!" Goodwin exclaimed while the King of the Underworld stopped its assault. The glow grew brighter. "What is that power?!"

"A power you would never know of, Goodwin," Yusei replied. "It comes from something far from New Domino and it comes from the power each of my friends share with me. And you're right, this isn't possible. I've already beaten you and saved the world from the Dark Signers. One day my friends will die and I will follow. But our bonds will keep us together, even after death. Death is never something to be afraid of as long as you have a bond with someone."

Goodwin growled before light blinded all of them. When it dimmed and disappeared, Yusei found himself back in the tunnels to the Stone of the Stars. "I owe you one, Stone of the Stars," he called.

" _You owe me nothing. You have saved the world too many times to owe anyone anything ever again,"_ it responded. _"Find me and we will save the world from the unbalance."_

"Right," Yusei agreed. He hurried forward.

" _I can really sense your presence now. You are close,"_ the stone called and Yusei found himself at a t-section. _"One way equals death; The other leads to me. This is a test. You must choose your path yourself. Remember, a clear mind solves all."_

"It does," Yusei answered. He looked down and closed his eyes. He cleared his mind of all worries and fears as he did when he achieved Accel Synchro.

Once he did, he began to hear the whistle towards the right side pathway. The other side was a resounding silence. He turned to the whistle's direction and walked that way. He soon came up on a dead end.

Yusei immediately recognized the scene and area from his dream. There was the familiar small ledge that protruded from the wall. And on it was a glowing, white-blue stone within the nest looking holder of white crystals in obsidian rock, giving it the familiar appearance of stars.

It shined a bit brighter at his presence. Yusei carefully picked up the stone, that was a sphere and barely fit in the palm of his hand, and it glowed brighter. When it dimmed, the stone said, _"Let us leave. But be warned of Keeo and Domo. They will try to receive our combined power. Their reasons, I do not know. But I do know that they cannot receive our combined power. Only the Priests and their offspring may hold our power, both separate and combined."_

"There was something off about them," Yusei responded. "Let's go, then."

Yusei ran through the tunnels and when he reached the closed doorway, he noticed a groove in the stone. It was shaped like the Stone of the Stars in his hand. He put in it and a several hundred lines shot out from the stone into the shape of the door. Yusei removed the stone and the doorway opened.

Yusei walked out and saw it was getting near sunset. He looked over the edge to see Domo and Keeo heading down the steps to tjhe south side. "I need to get down there a lot faster than I'll be able to climbing again."

" _The Priest of the Stars and I are connected together in ways the other Priests and their stones are not,"_ the Stone of the Stars told him. _"While the other Priests can call upon their stones' powers as they choose without the stone's needed consent, you and I have to work together. We act as a balance between each other. You can do anything you want as long as you have a clear mind, and then I choose what abilities you will activate to help you in any situation. But we must work together to achieve this power. Can you trust me with this?"_

"I guess," Yusei answered.

" _Good,"_ the stone responded. _"Clear your mind and jump off the cliff."_

"Wait, what?!" Yusei responded shocked.

" _Trust me! I promise, I'll keep you safe. There is a law to the stones that the original Priests kept out of history,"_ the stone responded. _"It's the reason why only Priests and their offspring can connect to us, and it's the reason why we are only connected to them."_

"What is it?" Yusei asked.

" _Many millennia ago, the six original Priests came to Dolmatriona. They held a great power within them that they were being hunted for,"_ the Stone of the Stars began. _"But the world was also on collapse. But they couldn't combine their energies like the other stones and I could to create life and balance again. When they arrived, they found six stones with a strange energy around them. But they were just stones. Seeing them as potential for holding their powers and able to create the balance of the world again, they each sent their powers into one of each stone. But they were sure to keep a connection to their stones to ensure they would be able to be used again, if ever the time was needed. And the stones became each of us, the Stones of Balance. We were once mere, but unique stones. But we are connected to the Priests since they sent their power into us and kept that connection for all eternity. And that connection was to be repeated through every generation and offspring of the Priests, no matter how distant a relative they may be. After we were successfully created and bound, the Priests used our gifts and combined our energies. The balance was restored until a human broke the balance. Like now. There is a caution to this connection, however. If a Priest or Priest offspring dies before they have an offspring of their own, however, the connection is lost and so is our power. If that should happen, the balance of the world will be forever broken and the world will fall to nothing."_

"So you _have_ to keep me alive to maintain balance and keep you alive," Yusei realized.

" _Well, as alive a rock with a sentient mind can be. But yes,"_ it answered. _"So trust what I am saying. Clear your mind and jump. I will protect you from harm and death."_

"Right," Yusei agreed slowly. _'I can't believe I'm doing this,'_ he thought. He took a deep breath while nearing the edge of the cliff. He focused until his mind was clear of all worries, concerns, or thoughts. He took the step and expected to find himself falling; but when he opened his eyes, he was floating in the air with his body glowing like the stone, only the stone was much brighter.

" _Think of a direction to go,"_ the stone told him.

' _Let's go right,'_ Yusei thought and his body angled and moved in that direction for a good five minutes. _'Stop.'_ He paused in the air. "I'm literally flying."

He heard the stone give a soft laugh. _"I told you, you would be safe,"_ it commented.

"Thanks," he told it. He then thought, _'Let's head to the roof of the ruins.'_ His body immediately angled that way and began to fly that way. When he found his way above it, he thought, _'Land on the roof.'_ His body gently lowered and when his feet touched the ground, the glow around him dimmed as did the brightness of the stone. "Thanks again. Now let's head to down and meet the others."

" _Right,"_ the Stone of the Stars agreed and Yusei went to the stairs and began his way down.


	9. Stone of Shadows

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 9: Stone of Shadows

Crow had just finished his walk down the step and reached the south side cliffs of the mountain. He looked at the shadows from what he could tell and noticed it was reaching the edge of the shore cliff.

' _Once it hits the water, the entire side of this place will be covered in shadows and that cave entrance should be able to be seen. But I can't walk back and forth on this island after the darkness hits this side completely. I need to find a bit higher ground facing the cliff,'_ Crow thought.

He looked at the forest and noticed a fairly high tree not too far from him. "That might work."He hurried towards it.

When he reached it, he began to climb up it, struggling a bit to get started. After a bit, it became easier and he found his way to the top. He turned to the ocean behind him as the sun finally made its way to disappearing from this side.

With that in place, Crow turned back to the cliffside. He looked across it and saw nothing. He checked again. Still nothing. "Okay, where is that ca-?" he stopped as he looked down and noticed a gap in the ground beneath the tree he hadn't seen before. He immediately climbed down and looked in it. It was pitch black inside save a spark of light to be seen in a far distance He moved a bit of dirt and saw the symbol for the Stone of Shadows.

"Definitely the place," he commented. "I'd better hurry." He cautiously climbed down. It was completely pitch black inside except for a small spark of light in the difference.

He heard the caw of a crow and looked, barely able to make out all of the crows sitting along the edges of the walls. They were watching him with red eyes that shined worryingly in the light of whatever was in the back of the tunnel.

"You think this will be easy, don't you?" came a voice from all around him. It echoed off the walls and sounded like a sad female.

"Where are you?" Crow called. A white glowing figure appeared, floating in the darkness. It was a young woman, seeming in her early twenties. She wore a priest like, tribal dress and her bangs were tied back behind her head. He looked at her uncertain. "Who are you?"

"I am Delorius," she answered. "I was to be a Priest of the Stone of Shadows many millennia ago. My brother was able to succeed in that quest after I failed and was trapped here for all eternity. If you stay here and get stuck, you will never be able to get out. The Stone of Shadows forbids it. And if you die here, your spirit will be trapped in this cave forever. There will be no sentence to any afterlife. Just a prison of loneliness. And you are not the first Priest to return here since me and my brother. Many before have found their relationship and tried to succeed." She used her light and showed about a hundred more skeletons around him. Some had almost ancient clothing and it went up to more modern slowly. Not as modern as from this present time, but modern as from about twenty to forty years ago. "All have failed. I hope you can succeed. But the trials you face are dangerous and can destroy even the strongest of minds. I was able to withstand the trials, but failed to make it out. I pray that you withstand these trials and make it out. Many of these people are sad and harmless. But there are some who resent those who come here and try. Be careful around them. Please, future Priest, do not become like us." She then vanished in a mist like disintegration.

"Okay, then…" Crow commented. "I gotta hurry if that's true."

He began to run through the tunnels a bit, trying to reach the light in the distance. Suddenly, the crows began to cry out in warning and Crow had to cover his ears from the pitch and how loud it was.

He looked ahead of him and saw a red flame not too far away. "You think you'll succeed?! All of us have tried and all we got was the pain of misery of being trapped all these years! You must be really stupid if you came down here for the stone," it yelled at him, sounding male in nature. It then grew into a red man who was dressed in one of the more modern outfits. "This place is a trap! And you're stupid enough to fall for it!"

"I'm coming for the stone not to become one of these Priests," Crow retorted and the spirit raised an eyebrow. "The world is in danger because some idiot ruined the balance and I need the stone to restore the balance. If I don't, the entire world will get destroyed!"

"Oh, really?" the spirit asked disbelievingly. "How can you prove this?"

Another red spirit came behind Crow with a suspicious glare. But another white one seeming like a young girl in a more Victorian-aged dress interrupted, "Are you two brain deads that stupid? Can you not feel the energy wavering from the stone? Has your anger and disappointment in yourself blinded you that much?"

"What do you know, Elizabeth?" the second red spirit to arrive asked.

"She's right, Alex," another white spirit, seeming like a woman in her late forties and wearing a seventeen-hundreds outfit. "I sense it. Let him pass and have a chance to get out of here before it's too late."

The two red spirits growled before disappeared, the first one calling, "You'd better be telling the truth, kid."

Crow sighed in relief and nodded at the two good spirits who nodded back. He then ran forward towards the light. _'It seems like some spirits want me dead while some spirits want me to live. No wonder the danger that comes with this place is so high,'_ he thought. He tapped a watch he had on and noticed it was getting close to seven o'clock. _'I have about a half-hour before that door closes again. I cannot afford to get locked up like that again.'_

Crow eventually found himself at the corner where the light was coming from. He turned into it and found a circular cave with four torches along point that would make it a square.

On a pedestal was a nest of black mist like in his dream. As he got closer, he saw the same stone from his dream as well. The sphere shaped, black stone with a white glow. It was about the size of his thumb, maybe a tiny bit larger. And like his dream, on either side of the pedestal was a statue seeming similar in design to Blackwing Armor Master with it kneeling and its wings wrapped around it.

The mist shot at him and Crow jumped out of the way, barely missed getting hit. The mist then shot two strands that hit the heads of the statues. The statues' eyes glowed a dark red like the monster and stood up like a living creature. They were extremely tall, nearly touching the top of the ceiling that was at least twelve feet high.

They looked at Crow. "You will not take the stone, intruder!" the first one on the right told him.

"Listen, I'm a Priest offspring by what Keeo and Domo told me and my friends who are also looking for their stones. The world is in danger and I'm trying to get the stone to save the balance," Crow tried to reason with them.

"We protect the stones and Priest offspring from danger. If you are truly an offspring, prove yourself," the second which was on the left told him.

"How?" Crow asked.

"Grab the stone. When a Priest or Priest offspring holds the stone, it will glow brighter. Many who have fallen in this cave were not true offspring," the first statue told him. It stomped on the ground and the fire on the torches grew brighter, allowing Crow to see a lot of the skeletons from before. A couple of the outfits he recognized as the ones the two red spirits he confronted were wearing. "Touch the stone. If you are telling the truth, we will see you out. We do know the balance has become unstable. If you are lying of who you are, we will kill you for trying to steal the Stone of Shadows and for lying to us."

"I'll accept that," Crow answered. The statues gave a bit of space and Crow picked up the stone. It glowed brighter and the statues seemed a bit shocked.

"You are a Priest offspring," the second statue commented. "It has been many years since one of you has come here. We will escort you out, so the spirits infuriated by their failure do not harm you. But when the balance is restored, all stones must be put back into their original placement by sundown tomorrow. Or else the balance will be broken again and cannot be restored for the next six thousand years."

"I understand. I'll tell the others when I see them," Crow responded.

"Then let us make haste," the first statue told him. "The sun will show itself again today very soon."

"Right," Crow agreed.

He then hurried out which the statue guards staying close. As he made his way through, he was sure to keep a good hold on the stone while hearing shocked whispers from those around him. Some red spirits tried to stop him, angry that he had succeeded and was nearing his way out. The sentinels, however, used some power to make them back off.

When they reached the mouth of the cave, the sentinels said, "Be careful with the stone, Priest offspring. You will soon become a true Priest once you realize your final trial."

"Thanks," Crow responded. The statues nodded before disappearing back into the darkness and the doorway closing seconds after. "That was a close exit," he muttered before walking off.

When he came near the stairs, he heard a voice, _"Be warned, Crow. Those who seem like friends are not always the best of allies."_ Crow looked at his stone. _"Yes, I can speak to you. Be careful of the two wolves who wear the sheeps' skins. They hide in their skins until it is time to attack. Only trust yourself, the stones, and the fellow Priests."_

"And Keeo and Domo?" Crow questioned.

" _They are the wolves who are waiting to make their move,"_ the Stone of Shadows answered shocking him. _"Beware of them. I do not know their full intentions. But do not give them our combined energy. Only a Priest can pass it on to a non-Priest. If you give it to them, all will be lost."_

"Are you sure about this, Keeo?" came Domo's voice.

Crow turned to look up the stairs and noticed him and Keeo coming down. _"Quickly! Use my power to turn yourself invisible!"_

Crow didn't question and managed to turn himself invisible right before Keeo and Domo looked in front of them and in his direction.

"Yes, Domo, I'm sure," Keeo responded to Domo's comment. "If we make sure Crow got out with the Stone of Shadows, we'll know whether we will be able to achieve the power we need."

' _Power for what?'_ Crow thought.

"You know how I feel about this plan, Keeo. Going back in time to save the Dolmatriona is a bad idea. I mean, there's a reason why they had to leave," Domo responded.

"Yeah, that godforsaken war," she answered. "And it ended with our family being duty-bound to be trapped on this island."

Domo and Keeo stopped at the bottom of the steps next to Crow. "But this island is different than others. It's better. Why are you so against this job?"

"Domo, we'll soon be here alone," Keeo retorted.

"So? We don't know the effects changing history could have!" he reasoned. "I honestly don't want to risk it."

"Honestly?" Keeo questioned.

"Honestly," Domo answered, repeating the question to do so.

Keeo walked away. "If that's so, then I can do this on my own," she stated.

Domo groaned in annoyance before hurrying beside her. "Wait for me, Keeo," he told her.

"I knew you were on my side," Keeo responded.

Crow waited before he saw them disappear from view. Once they were, he released his invisibility, allowing him to be visible to all again. "I need to tell the others about this," Crow commented. He turned and hurried up the stairs.


	10. Stones of Balance

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 10: Stones of Balance

Crow entered the ruins and made his way to the main area. He was quickly met with Leo and Luna. "Hey guys," he greeted.

"Hey, Crow," Leo greeted.

"Did you get your stone?" Luna asked.

Crow showed it. "With barely enough time to get out. What about you two?" he asked. They showed their stones. "Great. I have some really important to tell you guys and the others. About Keeo and Domo."

"I know," Luna answered. "Our stones told us not to trust them."

"You, too?" came Akiza voice and they turned to see her running up, quickly followed by Jack.

"Yeah," Jack answered. "All our stones seem to not like them."

"Where's Yusei, anyway?" Leo asked.

"I'm right here," he called running up.

"What took you so long?" Crow asked.

"Long story," Yusei replied. "Did I hear right and all your stones told you not to trust Keeo and Domo, too?" They nodded.

"I know why," Crow cut in and they turned to him shocked. "I was able to turn invisible like they said so they didn't notice me, but I heard them talking on their way down to the south side after I got my stone. Speaking of which, you three have yours, right?"

"We do, now what happened with Keeo and Domo?" Jack pressed.

"Domo was arguing with Keeo about this, but Keeo kept talking about using their combined powers to find a way to go back in time and save the Dolmatriona," Crow explained.

"Doesn't she know the effects changing history could have?! I mean, we all saw what happened when Paradox tried to change it," Leo responded shocked.

"Domo told her almost the same exact thing and she wouldn't budge on the matter," Crow told them. "She said something about not liking having to live on this island alone forever. She wanted to go back in time so they wouldn't have to leave and leave her family behind."

"What should we do, then?" Luna asked.

"We still need to combine their energies to bring balance back to the Earth. But we can't let Keeo and Domo get the combined energies once they are combined," Yusei replied.

"I got another warning from my cave," Crow cut in. They looked at him with full attention. "First off, a non-Priest cannot take the combined energy. Only a Priest can pass it on to a non-Priest."

"So they were going to trick us into giving it to them," Jack commented.

"And there was another thing from the statues in the cave," Crow cut in. They gave him uncertain looks. "I'll explain later. Part of the test. Anyway, they said that once the balance is restored, all the stones must be put back into their original placement by sundown tomorrow. Or else the balance will be broken again and cannot be restored for the next six thousand years."

"Sounds good with me," Akiza responded.

"And my stones warned me of something else," Yusei added. They looked at him. "If one of us dies before we have an offspring, the stones will lose all their power and connection to the human race. The balance will be lost forever, no way to restore it."

"So even if we return the stones, if we don't live until after we have kids, the balance will be broken and never able to be fixed?" Akiza responded.

"Exactly," Yusei answered.

"That's heavy, even for us," Leo responded.

"I'm sure it'll be okay," Yusei responded.

"But do we trust the stones or Keeo and Domo?" Jack asked.

"The stones," Yusei answered bluntly.

"Why are you so certain on that, Yusei?" Akiza asked.

"Firstly, they warned us about Keeo and Domo having hidden intentions," he began. "Secondly, my stone protected me from harm more than once while getting it and after getting it. The stones wouldn't lie to us if they're connected to us in the way we're saying and can feel."

"I guess that's true," Crow agreed and the others quickly followed.

"Let's not tell Keeo or Domo or show them that we don't trust them anymore," Yusei suggested.

"Yusei's right," Jack agreed. "We don't know what they'll do only they find out we won't help them change history. We don't want to risk not being able to combine the energies." They all nodded.

"For now, we'll act like we totally trust them and do what they tell us. But when they ask us to give them the energy, if they do, we refuse and protect it," Yusei instructed.

"Right," they agreed.

"Hey, guys!" came Domo's voice. They turned as he and Keeo walked up. "Good to see you all made it out alright."

"Didn't think we would?" Crow responded.

"The prophecy foretells your success. Doesn't mean we can't be concerned, though," Keeo replied.

"I suppose that's true," Luna responded.

"Come, we must make haste," Keeo told them.

"The only time you'll be able to combine the energies is when the sun and moon cross in the sky. It will be within the next ten minutes," Domo told them.

"And let us hope the Stones of Balance truly restore the balance of the world," Keeo responded before they hurried away, the Signers sticking close to them.


	11. Balance

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

 **Hey, guys! I would like to say thanks to ThePegasusDevice who helped me get an idea to continue this. So if it wasn't for her, this chapter and onward would not have been done. So you can thank her too if you want either by PMing her or saying so through reviews. I owe her the biggest thanks for this!**

 **Anyway, leave me a review or PM me as well with any comments, constructive criticism, anything you need to say. I'm open to everything!**

 **Now, thanks again to ThePegasusDevice and back to the story! To the chapter!**

Chapter 11: Balance

Keeo and Domo led them to a room. They opened it as Luna asked, "I didn't think the moon and sun ever crossed except on an eclipse."

"The energies on this island are special. It moves at the waves of the cosmos and makes it so the sun and moon cross every dawn and dusk," Keeo explained.

They turned as they entered the chamber. It was an outside, pentagonal balcony with five pillars at each point and a ceiling that had a hole above a pentagon shaped, stone table.

The table had a dug in, circular center with the image of the Stones of the Stars symbol inscribed in it. Connecting to it with five grooves leading to them were smaller, circular grooves in the center of each triangle of the pentagon, each have one that seemed for one of the five other stones as just below each smaller groove was one of the symbols for the stones. Above the center groove and hanging just under the hole was a diamond shaped, crystal gem that seemed to be almost slowing glowing brighter and brighter as the sun and moon neared each other.

"This is the Table of Energies," Domo told them. "It can only be activated when the sun and moon overlap at dawn and dusk and can only combine the energies of the stone at this time."

"So how do we combine the energies exactly?" Leo asked.

"As you can see, each circular groove is the shape and size for your stones to be set in. The Stone of the Stars goes into the center and must be placed in first. After it is placed in, the other stones must be placed in the proper order," Keeo explained.

"And what's the order?" Akiza asked.

"That, we don't know," Domo answered. "The Priests had forbid the knowledge to be written or passed down. They only said that when the time arrived for the stones' energies to be combined again, the Priests who control them will be told by the stones themselves. One by one. So our suggestion is to not put in your stone until it tells you to."

"Once the stones are in place, you must place your hands just behind the stone. Yusei, you must use the connection of your stone's balance between all the stones to keep it in the center of the table and just under the crystal until the balance has been restored," Keeo told him.

"Why won't it stay in the center?" Luna asked.

"The Stone of the Stars is the balance of all the stones when alone especially. But when combined, the other stones' powers magnify significantly and will become sporadic around the Stone of the Stars. By connecting his energy to his stone, Yusei is magnifying his stone's power to keep the other stones in control. However, if Yusei cannot keep the stones in line with his connection, the combined energy of the stones will ruin the balance completely and forever," Domo explained.

"How do I keep them in the center?" Yusei asked.

"You must connect to your stone completely lend it your energy. The Stone of the Stars will automatically keep the combined energy where it needs to be and stay until the balance is restored. But it needs your complete support to do so," Keeo replied.

"And how does he connect to it?" Jack asked. "This is a lot of pressure to be putting onto him alone with not as much to go on as would be needed."

"Only his stone knows how to connect to it," Domo answered. "That is another thing that has been withheld from history."

"It'll probably tell him once the moon and sun are getting extremely close to overlapping and his role to begin," Keeo added.

"How long will it take until the balance is restored?" Yusei asked.

"Only your stones can know that. They know more about the unbalance than we do and how long it'll take. It'll tell you when it wishes to," Keeo answered.

"Alright," Luna agreed.

They looked to see the sun and moon getting ever closer to each other. "Okay, get your stones ready," Domo urged. "It is almost time before it will be too late."

Yusei stepped towards the center point of the pentagon. The twins, Jack, Akiza, and Crow each got to their symbol's side waiting for their turn it in. Yusei carefully and slowly placed his stone in its spot at the center of the table.

" _You are still the only one who can hear me, Yusei,"_ his stone called. _"Just as before, in order to connect with me, you must clear your mind. Before I was only connecting us part way because it is dangerous to connect our energies completely. When connected completely, your energy is slowly drained. Bit by bit. It will not be completely lost by the time the balance is restored, but it will be very low. If we waver in our connection at all, however, a vast amount of your energy will be lost. If your energy is completely lost, you will die. It is the reason I wasn't connecting with you completely. The danger is too high. But now we must do so. So be prepared, Yusei. Once your mind is clear and our energies are combined, your mind is separate, but with mine. But I suggest you sit before connecting yourself. Your friends will as well through their stone's suggestion. The balance will take quite some time."_ The Signer gave a subtle nod that the others didn't seem to noticed as they were watching their stones.

Yusei turned as he saw Akiza perk up a bit. She slowly placed his stone in its space. Jack was next, then Leo, followed by Luna, and then finally Crow. Once they were all in place, every stone's light grew to a blinding illumination.

They weren't harmed by the light, however. It shocked them a bit as Keeo and Domo were covered their eyes from it. They watched as the six stones seemed to melt into liquid and the five outside stones' liquid flowed through the indented grooves that made a canal to the liquified Stone of the Stars. When it pooled inside the Stone of the Stars, the liquid then rolled into a larger size, spherical stone that glowed with multiple colors within it that moved like water.

The six Priests and Signers looked as the sun and moon were close to completely overlapping. As soon as they were, the crystal glowed bright and shot a light onto the stone. A wave of energy was shot passed them, but Keeo and Domo were thrown onto their backs.

The six Signers immediately sat down and Yusei closed his eyes, clearing his mind as his stone instructed him. Yusei quickly felt his mind and energy beginning to completely merge with his stone's. He took one last deep breath before he couldn't even feel anything but his energy and the overwhelming power of the stones. It was no wonder why Keeo needed this power so badly to go back in time. But that wasn't going to happen.

Yusei could faintly hear Luna ask, "How long do you think this will take?"

They all turned to the combined energies' form as all the stones' voices said together, _"Fifteen hours. Ten hours longer than the last restoration."_

"Fifteen hours? Yusei's going to be stuck like this for that long?!" Crow questioned. "How bad was it this time if it takes ten hours longer than last?"

" _Last time the unbalance had been treated almost immediately after it began. This time, however, it has been over three months. If it had been a month longer, the balance would've been unrestorable. Life would be lost. If it had been a couple weeks more than this time, the time of which restoration would've taken is at least thirty-six hours."_

"Alright, so we should be glad we were found sooner rather than later," Akiza commented. "And Yusei doesn't have much of a choice on this."

"Can't we try to talk to him at least?" Leo asked. "See what he's feeling now?"

" _No,"_ the stones immediately answered. _"In order to be fully connected, his energy and mind has been merged with ours. Until balance is restored, he is barely connected to his body."_

"You have gotta be kidding me!" Crow responded tense.

" _And there is more. If you waver his thought patterns and concentration of a clear mind in any way, it will only result in his own demise before the balance can be restored,"_ the stones stated.

"And why is that, exactly?" Jack asked.

" _To give the Stones of the Stars the energy to keep the rest of us maintained, his energy is transferred bit by bit to his stone. If his clear mind is wavered, it will send more energy into it. If he is fine the entire time, he will live. If his energy runs out completely, he will die,"_ the stones explained.

"Are you serious?!" Crow exclaimed.

" _Unfortunately. But if the world is to be saved from annihilation, it is what must be done. And there is no turning back now as it is,"_ they replied. _"I am sorry. As long as he is not disturbed in any way, he will survive."_

"With how much of his energy left?" Akiza asked.

" _Very little, but he will recover. After this is over, it should only take him his own fifteen hours to fully restore his energy, perhaps an hour or two longer,"_ the stones explained. _"All we can suggest is that you do not talk to him or move his body. That is the only way to ensure his survival."_

"You had better be right about this," Jack told them sternly.

" _Yusei told you what happens if you die before you have your own Priest offspring. If he would die from this even without being disturbed, we would've found a way to protect him and his life. But he will not pass away as long as you do not disturb him,"_ they retorted.

"Fine, we get it already," Crow responded. "We won't bug him."

" _Good,"_ they responded. _"Now the reason why we asked you five to sit instead of leaving is because your presence, even if it is not at your exact spots, is necessary for the five of us that are connected to you. You are connected to the stones even more so while we are combined. Without you here, the five of us in here that are attached to each of you will weaken in power and thus take longer to restore balance. And that would no doubt take too much longer than Yusei has energy for. You may move around and spend time as you wish, but you cannot leave here until the restoration has been completed."_

"Good with us," Leo responded.

"Right," Jack agreed.

"Are we at least allowed to go by Yusei?" Luna asked. "Not touch him or anything, but go by him. Or will that affect his clear mind as well?"

" _No, standing by him will not affect him. As long as you do not touch or speak to him, you are fine. He can hear everything around him. But if it is not directed to him, he is fine,"_ the stones answered. _"Be cautious how close you get to him, though. We do not want to risk anything."_

"Right," Akiza agreed.

They looked as Keeo and Domo stood up, shaking their heads. "Talk about energy…" Domo muttered.

"Are you guys alright?" Crow asked.

"We're fine," Keeo answered. "That wave just packed a punch."

"Did you hear anything of what the stones were saying?" Akiza asked.

"No," Domo answered. "Not at all. Was there something we needed to hear?"

"Not really. Just that the stones said that it'll take fifteen hours for the balance to be restored," Akiza answered.

"And none of us can leave until it's done," Leo added.

"We'll make sure you stay safe and okay until then," Keeo responded. "Is Yusei okay?"

"He's sitting right now keeping track on the stones," Crow answered, keeping everything they just learned from the stones out of the two Keepers' minds. They couldn't learn this until they were seen as trustworthy by the stones.

"Alright," they agreed. "We'll bring some water and food for you to snack on for now. But we'll stop by now and then after that. But if you need anything, just call."

"Thanks," Akiza responded. They nodded and walked out.

The Signers went to Yusei and looked at his form that seemed peaceful, but focused in one. Luna commented, "I hope he'll be alright."

"I'm sure he will be, Luna," Crow assured. "He's tough. He'll make it through this."

"R-Right," she agreed.

"Let's just rest around for now," Jack suggested. "We have a long wait."

"And we don't even have our cards to pass the time," Leo commented glumly.

"When they come back with the food and water, we'll get some sleep," Akiza suggested. "We all need it after today."

"Yeah," Crow agreed as they noticed the sun disappear behind the horizon. The only light now was the moon, the stones' light, and the crystal's light.

Keeo and Domo were soon back with some meat and fruits with some water. They quickly left to leave the Signers in peace. The five who could eat had their needs filled before all laying down somewhere to sleep. They were a bit worried that Yusei couldn't have his own bodily needs fulfilled, but they couldn't do anything about it at the moment. When he could finally wake up and come out of this, they would gladly give him the food he needs. All he had to do was pass this final trial.


	12. Memories- Part 1

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 12: Memories- Part 1

Yusei watched a scene like a ghost. No one seemed to see him, but he did see those around them and feeling as if he was truly there. He looked to see six figures in different colored robes walked through a dead land. Their faces were hidden from Yusei but their robes were colored like each of the stones. They noticed farmers struggling to till their lands, trying to bring life back to it to make their food for their family. The farmers turned, however, as the robed people made their appearance. They seemed nervous and almost fearful, however.

"Delma," called the one with a white robe. They had a more deep, masculine voice telling Yusei they were a male.

The one with a green robe looked up at him. "Yes, Zedai?" they responded with a young female voice. They were also a bit smaller than the man. The size suggesting a girl between fifteen and seventeen years of age.

"Show these people we wish to help them and mean no harm," the white robed, Zedai by what Yusei could tell, told her.

"Right," Delma, as Yusei deciphered, agreed. She glowed green making the farmers back up a bit. She placed her hands on the ground and grass sprouted again. The crop seeds that were just placed in the ground immediately grew into mature forms with a full and healthy crop to harvest. "Water of the nature, come share your current and love!" Yusei turned to a cliffside that was obviously once a waterfall quickly had water once again rushing down it and into the river bed below and the river was quickly restored.

A young man in a brown robe seeming just older than Delma placed his hand on the ground and the farmers looked to see the soil return to its fertile self again. The farmers gave them shocked looks, but also had looks of relief. The brown robed man then stated bluntly, "You're welcome."

"This land is now restored," Zedai told the farmers. "You can farm as you wish."

"How long will it stay this way?" a farmer asked.

"As long as you allow it," a man by the voice who had a yellow robe replied. "Treat it well and with care forever, and it will stay like this forever. Treat it with disrespect and abuse it, and it will return to a desolate land once again. It is up to you."

"Well said, Wetat," Zedai told the yellow robed.

"Thank you so much," another farmer told them. "Who are you exactly, though?"

"We are the Priests of the Balance," Zedai answered. "We protect the balance this world lives in and help those and the world when it falls out of place."

"We appreciate it, Priests of the Balance," another farmer responded. "Your gifts have saved us from our demise from the king."

"Hmm… What is the king like? We have heard many rumors," Zedai asked.

"He is a tyrant!" exclaimed a farmer. "If we do not send him the amount of crops he asks for ever season, one of us dies. And he asks for more every year."

A woman farmer closed her eyes in fear. The girl with a red robe who seemed about twenty in age walked up. "What is wrong, my friend?"

"My daughter was taken and killed for our failure last year," she stated near tears. She looked at her. "You have saved us from our fate for as long as we can."

Yusei looked as Wetat turned to Zedai and heard him whisper, "Zedai, we must speak to the king. We must help these people."

"And how do you suppose we convince him to do otherwise without being killed ourselves?" he responded.

"We must try, Zedai," the one with a brown robe replied.

The white robed sighed in defeat. "Very well, Wetat, Enoth," he agreed. "I see your opinions. We will speak to the king on behalf of these people."

The farmers seemed shocked at their choice, but also seemed happy… and worried. "If you speak with the king," a farmer began, "be careful. He doesn't take kindly to outsider's opinions."

"Thank you," the red robed responded. "We will take caution."

"We appreciate your help, Priests of the Balance," a farmer told them before the six robed walked away.

Yusei looked as his body glowed and noticed himself lifted into the air and forcefully follow them. He listened as he heard Zedai tell the man in a black robe, "Epito, I need you to turn invisible and be ready to protect us should anything happen while speaking with him. Can you do this?"

"Of course," the black robed, Epito, agreed before turning invisible in that instance.

"Let us go," Zedai suggested and continued the walk towards the main city.

Yusei turned as the city came into view with a large castle in the center. The red robed woman commented, "He must be holed up in the castle."

"Remember, Mita, you mustn't attack the king unless necessary. We do not need any enemies in these lands," Zedai told her. "So mind your temper."

"Right," she agreed.

"Are these the memories of the stones? Or the memories of the Priests that created them?" Yusei wondered aloud, knowing well that the Priests in front of him couldn't hear him.

He followed the Priests as they entered the castle, the guards watching them the entire time. When they reached the door, they knocked and a deep, almost menacing voice answered with a, "Enter."

The Priests entered with Yusei following. The king was dressed like the most stereotypical king that Yusei could think of. He was also eating a bowl of fruit that was piled high. _'He's really been spoiling himself… at the cost of his subjects,'_ the watching Signer thought a bit frustrated at the sight.

"Who are you?" the king asked sternly.

"Your highness, we are the Priests of the Balance. We have come here to speak on the behalf of your people and farmers," Zedai introduced.

The king laughed. "You really think they should have any say in what I proclaim?" he asked mockingly.

"With all due respect, your highness, a ruler is there to help and protect his people. Not to hurt them when they do not do as he wishes," Wetat replied. "If we had not helped the farmers replenish their land today, it would have been too dead and desolate to give you the amount of food you were asking of them, which would've resulted in one of them dying. We heard you killed a daughter last year."

"You mean that little girl? She was just a shrimp," the king retorted. "She couldn't have done much to help anyway."

Zedai noticed Mita ball up her hands in frustration. "Calm yourself, Mita. We will reach him," he told her quietly. He turned back to the king. "Your highness, without your subjects, who will serve you?" The king paused. "Without your subjects, it'll be you who must create your own food, do your own hair, and everything else. Do you see what we are saying?"

"Perhaps," he replied. "But why would they serve me if I weren't so strict?"

"Because they would rather serve a good and respective king than a king that you are now. They consider you a tyrant, and we wish for that to change. But only you and you changing your actions can do that," Delma told him.

Yusei was shocked this king was actually listening to the Priests. After what the farmers had said, he was expected something a lot more different. He had been expecting more arguments and yelling from the king. But the king was calm, though Yusei could see a bit of frustration he was hiding in his eyes.

"Why should I believe you on this?" the king asked sternly. "You have no attachments to the people here or this land."

"And that is precisely the reason you should believe us," Enoth responded.

"If we have no attachments to the people and this land, we have no reason to lie to you in order to make the people happier. We only wish for the people to be more at peace. No other reason behind it," Wetat added.

"Have you even seen the farmers outside the palace? Face to face?" Zedai asked the king. The ruler stayed silent.

"You have no knowledge of what the people feel or see you as. If you were to go out there and see for yourself what the people look at you as, I'm sure you would see we are right," Mita responded tense and seeming a bit frustrated.

"Calm yourself, my friend!" Zedai ordered sternly.

"Your friend is very passionate about this," the king commented uncertain.

"She is the first one who saw fear and sadness in one of your subjects, who admitted to her about her daughter's kidnapping and killing at your hand," Zedai explained. "Forgive her outburst. Tell me, what is the reason to murder your own subjects if they do not meet your standards?"

"They need to know that they cannot flake off in their duties!" the king answered getting visibly flustered.

"And how much food that they harvest do they get for their families?" Delma asked. He immediately went silent. "See? You take so much food, while they get so little and they can barely feed their families. Does that say anything to you and your heart?"

"I have heard your words," the king retorted. "I will think upon them. But you must leave this kingdom and never return. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your highness. I hope you treat your people with the respect they wish and deserve," Zedai replied and walked out.

"Is that really all we're going to do, Zedai?" Mita asked. "You know he won't do as we ask."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But we cannot make enemies," he answered. "Once we find a place to stay, we will see if these people wish to join us there."

"Right," they agreed as they left the city.

However, before he could make any more thoughts on what he saw, Yusei was quickly and suddenly blinded by a bright, intruding light.


	13. Memories- Part 2

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 13: Memories- Part 2

When the light dimmed, Yusei found himself with the Priests on the island of the ruins, Enoth helping build the temple in its prime, and Delma, Mita, and Wetat missing. _'Most likely finding people to come help and stay with them,'_ he thought.

Yusei watched with Zedai as some boats came in to the island. The Signer recognized some of the farmers as the ones from the town they helped. In fact, the ones from that town were mostly those that saw the Priests' help.

The people walked up to Zedai. A man greeted, "Priests, we thank you for bringing us away from our tyrants. We hope we will be able to assist you and prove ourselves worthy to stay in your care."

Zedai placed a gentle hand on the man's shoulder. "My friends, no one here needs to prove themselves to us," he told him. They were a bit shocked by it. "Being put through your ordeals because of your tyrants and leaving your homes to join us proves enough. We protect the world and those in it. We will always be ready to care for you and whoever may come."

"Thank you, sir," they immediately responded.

"What can we do for now?" a man asked. "How can we help?"

"For now, you can help by building your new homes," Zedai told him. "Delma will help you do it in a way that'll not harm nature or the earth too much."

They nodded and followed the female Priest away, some young kids following their parents, most however only had one parent.

Mita came up to Zedai. "Think we'll ever have our own offspring?" she asked.

"Perhaps," he answered. "When the time is right."

"I understand," she responded. "So, what shall we call our new home?"

"You, the other Priests, and I shall gather together and discuss what our planet and powers wish it to be," Zedai responded. "Now, come. Enoth may need assistance and your fire could help."

"What can I do?" Wetat asked walking up.

"I need you to start building that electric power system you mentioned you could make and keep hold of with your powers," Zedai responded. "The sooner you finish that, the sooner we'll be a true society."

"Much like our friends, the People of the Stars," Mita commented.

"Well, we'll probably be more advanced than them," Wetat commented.

"Wetat, we will not compare ourselves in such a way to the Star People," Zedai told him. "It is wrong to do so. You understand that, right?"

"I do," he answered. "My apologies."

"It is fine, my friend," Zedai responded. "Now, come, we must make preparations for you to begin your work and for us to make our new peaceful society." They nodded and followed him.

"What… am I seeing exactly?" Yusei wondered. "And why?" Suddenly, he was blinded yet again by a illuminating light.

. . .

When it dispersed and dimmed, Yusei found himself in the temple entrance in front of the thrones. The citizens were gathered in there and sat in fear. He turned to the windows and saw a battle going outside.

He was quickly transported beside Zedai who was standing on the top of the mountain, using his power to create a barrier around the main area of homes that he saw were made in the trees and the temple. He looked to see the other Priests defending the island with their own power.

"The balance is breaking," Zedai muttered, seeming worried. "Once the invaders have been cleared of our land, we will find a way to transfer our powers to a reliable source. Hopefully that'll restore the balance. We can no longer hold it alone."

That's when Yusei noticed that instead of a blinding light, time seeming to move in fast forward. When it stopped, Yusei was back in the temple and the invaders had left the island in defeat and in ruins.

Yusei turned as Zedai called to the people, "We are safe from the invaders!" The people gave a sigh of relief and many thank yous were sent around from the crowd. "If this should happen again, we will do as we did today. This is a victory of Dolmatriona, but some of your homes were lost in the fight. Delma will help those who lost their homes make new ones that will be done by tomorrow. Until then, you may rest in the temple. And all those harmed on their way to escape will be healed by me. For now, though, let us return to normal and celebrate with a feast at the temple for this victory of peace and life!" The crowd cheered happily and all dispersed to get their things together to celebrate.

Once they were all gone with Delma leaving to help rebuild the homes some of the people lost, Mita came up to Zedai holding an infant in her arms. "Do you sense it, Zedai?"

"The balance has been broken, hasn't it?" Epito asked.

"Yes," he answered. "And we alone are not strong enough to restore it."

"How do we restore it then?" Enoth asked.

"Remember the strange stones each of us found?" Zedai asked. They nodded as they each brought out theirs, but they were simple, grey stones. "We will need to wait for Delma's vote, but I would like to transfer our powers, memories, and thoughts into these stones. This way they are linked to us and our offspring. We and our offspring will only be capable of using them, but I believe by transferring all that energy and if we combine it, we can focus it and restore the balance before it collapses completely."

"I agree, that is the most reasonable solution," Mita answered. "You are the balance between all our powers, Zedai. You would know best."

"Each of our powers are focused on an element," he responded. "I merely keep the peace between you all."

"Only the cosmos and stars can do such a thing, Zedai," Epito argued gently. "Your element is that of the stars above."

"I suppose that is true," he agreed kindly. "For now, let us prepare for the feast and to ask Delma her opinion. Since I assuming I have all of your agreement in the suggestion. Am I correct in that assumption?" They nodded. "Good."

Yusei was blinded yet again and soon found himself watching as the six Priests stood at the table him and his friends set their stones in to restore the balance. They each set their currently grey stones in the same placement as he and his friends had.

The Priests then placed their hands on top of the stones and closed their eyes. Zedai began a chant, "By the cosmos that pulls us, the energy that move us, the plants that give us life, the ground that gives us stability, the fires that give us warmth, and the shadows that hide our fears; I call upon the gifts you have given to us." They each began to glow. "Send our energy, memories, and powers into these stones. Bind us to them and our offspring to them. Let them survive weather and unbalance. And let them bring balance to the world tomorrow and more. By the cosmos that pulls us, the energy that move us, the plants that give us life, the ground that gives us stability, the fires that give us warmth, and the shadows that hide our fears; Transfer our powers forevermore!" There was a bright light that blinded even Yusei. When it dimmed, he saw the stones that he knew of back in his original time and they pulled back, obviously in a daze. "It is done." They looked at the stones who began to whisper to them. "They are forever connected to us and our offspring. Now when the moon and sun cross at dusk, we shall restore the balance."

"Then we must each put the stones somewhere no one will ever expect," Epito responded.

"No," Delma intervened. "We need to leave at least clues for future Priests to find them. We know the balance will not be restored forever. We must leave behind words to ensure if they are needed again they can be found."

"I agree," Enoth responded. "But we can't just let them be retrieved easily. We must put trials those must face to retrieve the stones."

"Agreed," Zedai responded.

"We can decide that on our own and let each of us know the location. We will then tell the Scripture Artists what to write as a hint," Wetat suggested.

"Yes," Mita agreed.

"Some of the Protectors will be charged to protect the stones," Zedai suggested. "They may protect us as well, if they so choose. But the stones have become their priority. Other Protectors will stay protecting us and our offspring, as we are the only ones who can harness the powers of the stone and keep the balance."

"Agreed," they all responded.

"Now, let us finish this ritual by restoring the balance. As the balance of all your combined powers, I will be forced to go into meditation and clear my mind. I am uncertain how long I will be out. Most likely until the balance has been restored. But none of you will be able to leave the room either."

"Good thing Semai is waiting over there," Mita commented looking at the infant from before.

Delma laughed. "Same with Tikia," she responded turning to another offspring.

"And our children are safe at home with our wives," Zedai stated. "Let us begin then." They nodded and began as the balance was beginning its restoration for the time being.

' _So this is when the stones were created and that's why I'm able to see this right now. All the first Priests' memories are in the stones, and I'm connected to all the stones right now. So I'm seeing this,'_ Yusei realized. _'What am I going to see next, then?'_


	14. Memories- Part 3

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 14: Memories- Part 3

There was another fast forward in time and it quickly went to normal time when Zedai was waking up. He stood up and his fellow Priests gave a sigh of relief.

"Has the balance been restored, Zedai?" Wetat asked.

"It has," he answered. "I had a vision when I was connected to the stones, however. Let us split the stones to our own and I will explain everything before we hide the stones."

"Right," they agreed.

In unison, the Priests exclaimed, "Split!" There was a flash of light before Yusei saw the stones in their own solid forms as floated down into the hands of their specified Priests.

"What did you see, Zedai?" Delma asked.

"I saw six of our offspring far into the future. The balance had been broken and they were restoring it," he explained. "They each had a Mark of the Dragon as well."

"Did you see anything else?" Epito asked.

"A dark figure. It held intents I could not decipher," Zedai answered. "From what I could sense, it was female, but its features were blocked by the darkness. Not the good of your darkness, Epito. But some darkness I have never yet sensed."

"We should create a room to leave a warning, then," Mita suggested. "Do you know which of our offspring went to which mark?"

"I do," Zedai answered. "I could not see the facial features of our offspring, but I saw their marks and our stones held in their hands. Let's walk and I will tell you more."

"Right," they agreed and walked out.

' _So Zedai was the one who saw us coming and the balance breaking again,'_ Yusei thought as he was forced to follow them. _'I wonder if they ever saw who we are.'_ He shook his head to immediately dismissal. _'Probably not since the only time Zedai saw us was when he was connected to the stones, and this is probably the last time he'll ever do so.'_

Yusei turned a bit alert, however, as Epito commented, "Do any of you sense a presence watching us?"

"Not really," Delma answered. "I sense a presence around, but that could be from any of the people here."

"I suppose," Epito agreed.

The others returned to talking while Epito turned and looked straight at Yusei. His eyes, which were the only things Yusei could see other than the chin for all of them, narrowed in suspicion. He said nothing, though, relieving Yusei.

' _If I stay here too much longer and Epito tries to contact me, things could get bad,'_ Yusei thought. _'But I don't even know how I actually got here, let alone get back to real time. I doubt I'll be able to before the balance back in my time is fixed. We'll just see what he tries to do until that happens.'_

It soon turned to night and Yusei watched as each of the Priests went to their own homes for the night. Instead of following them like before, however, he was forced to stay in the throne area of the temple. He stood at the window and watched the stars outside. He figured he was staying there because the memories of the stones were coming to an end the next day. _'Or some sort of memory only one of them knows is going on tonight,'_ the Signer thought.

"Who are you exactly?" came a voice from behind Yusei. Yusei flipped behind him and looked to see Epito there. The Signer stayed silent. "Who are you? You are not from here. You look beyond this time. Are you the one I have sensed for a good period of time at certain times in my life?"

"Depends on the certain times," Yusei answered vaguely.

"Your accent… it is unfamiliar," Epito commented. "Where do you come from?"

"Japan," he answered.

"Japan?" he questioned.

Yusei sighed. "Complicated," he replied. He turned back to the stars.

"Hmm…" he heard Epito mutter under his breath. "Are you from another time?"

"I guess you could say that," Yusei answered vaguely.

"Considering it seems you are despite your vagueness and indicated by your strange attire and accent, how exactly are you here? And why does it seem as if you are a ghost hidden in the shadows? Are you perhaps one of our descendants?" Epito asked. Yusei stayed silent while staring at the stars, and Epito narrowed his eyes again. He then realized it, "You are the descendant of Zedai. And you come from the time of his vision. You are here yet not here, because you are connected to the combined stones. Intriguing to say the least. I must say, however, it was a very wise move to try to hide as much as yourself from me as possible. Zedai must've had fine descendants to come to one such as you."

"Thanks, I think," Yusei responded politely.

"Even the choice of words somewhat differ from this time," Epito commented.

"If you could do me a favor and not tell the other Priests or anyone really about this encounter, that would be great. I don't want knowledge like this to spread around too much," Yusei told him.

"You have my word as long as you answer one question of mine," Epito responded. Yusei looked at him over his shoulder and gave a small nod, telling the Priest he could answer. "What is your name?"

"Yusei," he answered. He wasn't going to say a last name. That would've been too much for that question and it didn't seem like they gave any names that had a surname at the end of it.

"Thank you… Yusei. You have my word. I will not tell the other Priests or any other person about this encounter," Epito replied.

"Thanks," the Signer responded, turning to him fully. "I know they are good friends of yours."

"We are more family than friends," the Priest of Shadows told him. "But when such a respectable soul that is also a descendant of my closest like you asks for something like this, I can keep such knowledge a secret. And this is dangerous knowledge to be had. It cannot spread." Yusei nodded. "Well, I must make my way to the hiding place I have chosen for my stone. I hope my descendant is as worthy as you."

"He is," Yusei answered.

Epito nodded in thanks. "Have a good night, Yusei. I hope you bring balance to the future world," he stated. Yusei nodded back in respect before Epito walked away.

' _Was this a memory from the Stone of Shadows? Or did I just change a bit of history?'_ Yusei thought a bit concerned. _'But I know Epito will keep his word. If I didn't follow the other Priests around like I used to and it was just Epito, it was probably the stone's memory of then. We'll see what happens when I finally go back to reality and my time after the balance is restored. I wonder how long it's been since I began the restoration with the stones.'_


	15. Bonds Beyond Betrayal

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 15: Bonds Beyond Betrayal

"Ugh…" Leo groaned. "How long has it been, Akiza?"

"Leo, you asked that five minutes ago," Luna responded bored. "It's only been five minutes longer."

Akiza shook her head, a bit in amusement. "I know you're bored, Leo. But we just have five minutes before the fifteen hours are up. Besides, the stones will let us know when the balance has been restored."

"How much energy do you think Yusei has?" Crow asked.

" _He is running low. Bridging too low,"_ the stones answered. _"But too low is not out. The balance is nearly restored. We are working on the very last of it. Give it another couple minutes."_

"How bad is 'too low', though?" Jack asked.

" _It will be nearing death on his body. This has never happened to any Priests before you. We do not know what will happen if he enters the too low margin. Death will not be it, though. A short coma may be one possibility,"_ the stones explained.

"But we need him awake before sunset today! Or else the balance will be lost and completely unrestorable," Crow retorted.

" _We said it is one possibility. Give another minute, please. The balance is almost restored. He will then be able to recuperate his energy within fifteen hours,"_ the stones answered.

"That's still after the sunset, though," Akiza argued.

" _The statues were partially correct timewise the balance is restored,"_ the stones responded. _"The Stones of the Stars can be returned after the sunset. In fact, it must be returned last. The rest of us must be returned by the time the sun has set behind the horizon."_

"How long can the Stone of the Stars be returned after the sunset?" Crow asked.

"And why haven't you said this before?" Jack followed.

" _It was not needed to be said before. As for your question, Priest of Shadows, the Stone of the Stars must be returned as soon as its Priest has awoken and after the stones have been returned. But the Priest must be close to as much of full strength and energy to return it. Otherwise, the returning of the stone will seem as if it was never returned. His energy may not be completely restored by the time he awakes, but he must return it then,"_ the stones answered. There was another pulse wave of energy and the Signers were left unaffected by it. _"The balance is restored."_ They ran to Yusei as Akiza grabbed him before his head hit the ground. He was obviously drained and he was slightly pale, but he seemed fine for the most part. _"He did not get too low. He will most likely awaken in fifteen hours. Now, you must hurry and separate us. Before the hidden wolves' return and-"_

They turned as Keeo and Domo entered. The male Keeper commented, "We felt the pulse wave and the air seems normal again. Is Yusei alright?"

"Just drained," Akiza answered.

"Priests, do you mind if we hold the stone?" Keeo asked.

"We do, actually," Leo answered, shocking them a bit. "We don't want to risk anything happening to it before we separate it. Besides," They looked at the setting sun, "we need to hurry and get the stones to where they need to be again."

"Please, we just wish to feel its power," Domo pushed.

"Okay, I'm done hiding this," Crow commented tense. "Listen, we know you want to use the stone's energy to go back in time and stop the Dolmatriona from leaving the temple."

"How do you-?" the Priest of Shadows cut Keeo off.

"I turned invisible before you noticed me while you were walking down the steps to the south side," Crow answered to the unfinished question.

"And our stones have been telling us since we found them not to trust you because of that reason," Jack added.

"Listen, I'm not sure if you had the problem or remember it, but a while back, someone tried to change history by getting rid of duel monsters," Akiza told them shocking them. "It nearly destroyed everything. It was close to destroying New Domino, it was preparing to wipe out everything you've ever known. We wouldn't even be here now. Changing history won't help anyone. Not even you."

"But we'll be alone here once Mother dies!" Keeo argued in distress, looking down while on the brink of tears. "Never leaving this island because there will be no other reason to leave. Alone for all eternity, never seeing anyone but each other. Is that a life you wish for us to live?" They went silent, knowing it wasn't fair for them to live alone like that.

"Keeo, calm yourself," Domo tried to console her. "I'm sure they'll visit from time to time."

"We will, Keeo," Luna told her.

"But you can't. As we said, this island moves along the waves of the cosmos. It never stays in place for long. Once the stones have been returned, the island will begin moving again," Keeo responded sadly. "We only know where it is and where it's going because it goes in a pattern only we know. And the pattern is so hard to decipher, it took years of learning it in order to be able to read and understand it. All you'll have time for is getting to your hotel again and then staying there. After that, we'll be gone forever. Until we find a way to find _you_ again, if that ever happens which is doubtful."

"Keeo…" Luna muttered.

"Yusei always says those we meet we make long lasting bonds with," Crow told her. "Even if it'll take a while, we'll always meet those we knew again. So even if we leave, we'll see each other again. And who knows? Maybe this time we'll stay."

Keeo shook her head in refusal. "No, that's not possible," she whispered in sadness and distress. "It's never been possible."

"It is, Keeo," Akiza told them.

"Listen to the Priests, Keeo. They know more about the world than we do. After all, they've saved it three times, including now," Domo tried. "We do not need to ruin this world they just fixed by changing history for selfish reasons."

"Trust us, Keeo. You won't be alone forever," Leo assured. "Just give up trying to change history. It won't help anyone, even you." She gave a slow nod, looking down still. "How do we split the stones again?"

"All of you must exclaim at once 'split'," Keeo answered. "I am unsure if the Priest of the Stars is needed for this as well, but considering he is out and you are running out of time, you must try."

The five awake Priests looked at their stones for their words. _"Yes, you can do it with you five alone. But it must be in complete unison,"_ the stones told them.

The Signers got back into their spots and looked at each other. They nodded before turning to the stones and yelled in perfect unison, "Split!"

There was a flash of light and when it dimmed, each stone that was linked to the conscious Signers came down to their hands and landed while the Stones of the Stars landed back in the center to await Yusei's consciousness.

"Come on, guys," Crow ordered. "Let's hurry. I have only about an hour before my gate closes again and I'll be stuck down there for life." They nodded and all headed towards their chosen caverns.

Keeo and Domo walked up to Yusei. Domo suggested, "Let's take him and his stone to a room for now. But leave the stone with him."

"Right," Keeo agreed. "We should probably force some water into him too. He is probably quite dehydrated from this." Domo nodded and picked up Yusei. Keeo grabbed the stone and Domo watched her carefully, making sure she didn't pull anything.

They arrived at a room and Domo gently set Yusei on a bed, putting the covers over him to ensure he stayed warm while recovering his lost energy. Keeo set the stone down on a bedside desk.

Once they left the room, shutting the door as they did, Domo stated, "I'll stay here and protect Yusei."

"From what? I doubt any hunters would come now of all times," Keeo questioned.

"Firstly, to ensure you don't get any new ideas," Domo answered and Keeo looked down. "I'm your older brother, Keeo. I know everything you think just by watching your face. Secondly, I need to make sure if Yusei wakes up, someone is there to explain everything to him. If he knew about you, like the others, he wouldn't trust you as much as he trusted me. Though, he would trust the other Priests more. But this way, he'll be awake with me here if the others don't make it back before he wakes up. And you need to ensure the other Priests get back okay."

"Alright," she agreed. "Watch him carefully, Domo." She agreed. "I'll go get some water that we can give him."

"Right," he agreed and she walked off. "Be careful, Keeo."


	16. Final Trials

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 16: Final Trials

Crow and the others met up at the center of the throne room of the temple. They each went their own ways towards the caverns they came from. Crow hurrying as fast as he could towards his cavern as he was really on a time limit.

Crow turned a bit to see Keeo watching from the side, obviously trying to see something. _'Domo's probably guarding Yusei, though, so Yusei'll be fine,'_ he thought. _'I hope…'_

Crow made it to the three just as the shadows completely came over the south side again and he hurried into the caverns where his final trials would await.

Upon entering the cave system, he was greeted by suspicious silence. Crow cautiously crept forward, taking care to constantly check his surroundings. _'This is almost worse than a pair of toddlers being quiet for once. Nothing good can happen in either case,'_ the Signer thought to himself.

And he was right, because as soon as he had lowered his guard several minutes later, a red, male spirit appeared in front of him. He scowled. "Oh, it's _you_ ," he spat. "I thought you would never come back, but it seems that you are all alone now. No one to protect you, now. No Delorius and no statues. This should be fun," the spirit gave a cruel grin.

Crow didn't waste another moment making a hasty getaway, paying little attention to where he was going. At this point, all that mattered was putting distance between the vengeful (and murderous) ghost and himself. _"Go left,"_ the stone urged Crow.

Without question, Crow followed these instructions; however, as soon as he turned the corner, he immediately wished he had disobeyed the stone. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the cavern looked as if it would give way at any second. _"Don't stop! Keep going!"_ it called out.

Seeing that the Stone hadn't led him wrong yet, Crow took a deep breath and sprinted across the room to the tunnel on the other side of the room. Unfortunately, as soon as he stepped over the crumbling earth, it broke apart and fell into the dark void that was somehow beneath it. Fortunately, though, the ground only crumbled after he had stepped on it, so he was able to make it to the other side just as the last boulder violently crashed against the void's walls.

"The Hell was that for?!" the Priest yelled.

" _I was hoping the noise would attract some attention and slow down that pesky spirit,"_ it explained.

"Yeah, well-" Crow was cut off by Elizabeth, Alex, and a few of the statues running around the corner towards him.

" _You were saying,"_ the mystical stone smugly shot back.

"Not. A. Word," Crow bit back.

It simply gave a… _snicker_ at his suffering.

"Are you quite alright?" Elizabeth inquired when the impromptu group met up with him. "We heard a loud noise and came as soon as we could."

"I'm fine, I just need to return the stone and then leave ASAP," he explained, then he had a thought, "Do you think you can help me with that?"

"Certainly," Alex agreed a tad too quickly and eagerly, "it has been a long time since I have had a good fight. How about you, Elizabeth?"

"I would have to agree with you," the benevolent being responded. "You go on ahead, young Priest, we will hold them off and grant you safe passage."

"Thank you," he responded.

"Now get going!" Elizabeth shooed.

Taking that bit of advice, Crow began running, carefully following the still smug stone. As he made his way through the winding tunnels, something rather odd began to occur: the gentle spirits that resided here began to appear and… _cheer him on_.

Okay, definitely not the weirdest thing that has happened to him, but still up there.

" _Look out!"_ the stone suddenly warned, snapping Crow out of his trance. Just in time, too, as Crow quickly ducked under a ghost's punch. As soon as both parties recovered, the red spirit ran in for another attack, but was soon blocked by a statue slamming its fist down on the ghost. _'Where the Hell are these ghosts and statues coming from?! Wait... magic. Nevermind.'_

After what seemed like hours, Crow finally made it to the original room the stone was held in. Giving a quick glance at the numerous guardian statues scattered about in the room, the young Priest continued to the original place of the mystic stone. "Well, I guess this is goodbye," he started awkwardly.

" _Indeed,"_ another awkward pause. _"You were an excellent Priest, Crow."_

"Thank you. You weren't too bad of a partner, either."

Although it didn't say it outright, Crow knew that the stone was pleased with his words. _"I would suggest you leave now. Now you have 15 minutes to escape before you are trapped in here forever. Goodbye, Crow,"_ it stated.

Without further adieu, the stone went dormant.

"Bye," Crow whispered back.

Crow took one last look at the room, and then turned around and sprinted out of the room and through the labyrinth. He took the same route as last time, carefully avoiding the blows the vengeful spirits sent his way and then thanking the spirits and statues that intercepted these beings. About ten minutes into his escape, Crow ran into a major problem: the entire room he had destroyed earlier was essentially a pitfall to certain death.

Now that he was separated from the stone, he didn't have any powers to clear the gap and make it to safety. Frantically searching for some way to get across the gap, he was dismayed to see the very same spirit from before float tauntingly in the center of the gap. Crow tried to think of a plan of action to get away from it and make it out in time. He was suddenly stuck with an idea. He would have to do the very same thing he had done to get into this mess into the first place: make a lot of noise and hope that some allies respond.

Crow took a deep breath and began shouting, "Alex! Elizabeth! Guardian Statues! Anyone!"

He repeat this for another before his cries were met by one of the animated statues lumbering towards him. "What do you need help with?" it growled.

Hastily formulating a risky plan, Crow said, "Do you think you could toss me to the other side without having the freaky dude catch me?"

The statue seemed to contemplate his reckless plan, and nodded as he lowered his hand for Crow to climb onto. Once he was situated, the statue gently closed his grip, calculated the distance, pulled back, and then threw Crow. The Priest sailed through the air, trying to get in a position that kept him away from the ghost and also put him in position to land semi-safely. Thankfully, both things happened, and with a hasty roll Crow was running again, this time with the very same ghost from the void chasing after him.

After two minutes of this chase, Crow tripped of all things and skidded across the ground. Quickly recovering, Crow stood up and continued his race against time, now significantly slower and with a slight limp. Taking a glance behind him, he saw the spirit direct a punch at him. It connected, and Crow fell again. As he struggled to get up, the ghost sadistically stalked towards him. Once again, Crow lucked out as Elizabeth charged over to him and tackled the ghost.

Once she landed on top of it, she began punching the evil spirit repeatedly. "GO!" she screamed, "YOU HAVE LITTLE TIME! GO!"

Crow's eyes widened at both her break in character and the realization of how little time he had left. Sprinting even faster, he navigated his way through the winding tunnels. Finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Crow let out a breath of relief and slowed down; a major mistake on his part, as no sooner than he slowed down did the entire cave seemed to darken even more and became silent.

The very same spirits that had been cheering for his escape, froze and their blue aura turned into a dark crimson and they turned towards him. The few red spirits gave deranged grins as they now turned a cross between a dark red and black. The statues also went under a similar change, as their bodies seemed to become spikier, bulkier, and radiate an air of malevolence as they growled.

' _This can't be good,'_ Crow thought to himself.

When the inhabitants of the cave began to step towards him, an ominous, pitch black shadow crept across the floor towards the Priest. Stumbling backwards in shock at their sudden change in character, he could not anticipate when the combined forces of the statues, spirits, and shadows lunged at him. _"Freeze!"_ the familiar voice of the stone commanded.

And everything did indeed freeze.

" _Go, Crow. I will keep them frozen, just get out of here."_

"Thank you," the Priest said sincerely and jogged out of the cave, not once looking back.

Picking his way through the paths, he soon returned to the temple, still limping slightly.

Crow entered the temple just as the others entered as well and told them, "Guys, you will not believe what just happened."


	17. Returning of the Final Stone

**A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 17: Returning of the Final Stone

It was a long wait for all of them. Yusei hadn't budged at all since they brought him to the room he slept in. It kind of worried them that he hadn't even moved a centimeter. His friends spent most of their time in his room while waiting for him to wake up.

"All that energy he had drained…" Leo commented. "Will he really be alright to climb the mountain again to put the stone back?"

"He'll have to be, Leo," Crow stated. "We can't even help him put it back."

"How much longer until the fifteen hours are up?" Luna asked.

"Just a few more minutes," Akiza answered, looking at the clock on her phone. She then looked at Yusei. "My worry is if it'll take an hour or two longer, like the stones said was a possibility."

"Don't worry, he'll wake up in the next few minutes," Jack assured. "He'll be fine, I know it. He'll just have to eat and drink a bit first. He'll be way too dehydrated and malnourished to take that stone up the mountain."

"Yeah," Crow agreed. They looked at the Stone of the Stars sitting next to him.

"But didn't the Stones say that as soon as Yusei wakes up, the Stone of the Stars has to be returned?" Luna reminded.

"If we could hear it like Yusei can, we could probably know how much longer it'll be until he wakes up."

"Yeah…" Leo agreed followed by the others.

They went back to silence for a few more minutes. But their silence was broken when a familiar groan was heard. They immediately looked at Yusei who weakly opened his eyes. He looked at each of them.

"Are you alright, Yusei?" Luna asked.

"I… I think," he answered, trying to sit up. But it was obvious that he was still extremely weak, despite having most of his energy returned.

" _Yusei, you have to return me now. I can help you up and down the mountain,"_ the Stone of the Stars told him. _"But I'll have to be careful how much energy we use. You have a lot more inner energy than most. So you've only had a fraction of your energy restored. And we need to return the stone fast."_ Yusei nodded in acceptance. He tried to get up but merely fell to a knee weak.

"Yusei!" Akiza exclaimed as they all surrounded him.

"I'm fine," he assured.

"No, you're still extremely weak," Crow denied. "You can't do anything yet. Just rest for a bit longer before you head off to return the stone."

"I have to return the stone fast," Yusei answered. "I'll be fine. Trust me." He slowly stood up and grabbed his stone that he was connected to. "Just wait here. I'll be back." Before any of them could respond, he ran out.

"We should follow him," Jack stated.

"No," Akiza stopped. "If we had to get and return our stones on our own because it won't be recognized as either if we had any real help, then that goes for Yusei too. We just have to trust him. There something about that bond between his stone and him that's different than with ours."

"But he doesn't have a lot of energy still," Leo argued. "Will he even be able to climb a mountain and get down with him like that?"

"We have to trust him, Leo," Crow stated. "That stone will keep him safe."

"Alright," Leo agreed while the others nodded. They then turned to waiting for Yusei to return.

. . .

Yusei raced up the steps to the roof of the ruins. When he reached the top, he looked up the mountain. He then turned to the stone, "So, let me guess, we're flying up to the cave."

" _Correct,"_ it answered.

"And how am I getting down?" Yusei asked.

" _You do not need to be holding me to use our connection to do as needed like the others,"_ the Stone of the Stars began. _"Our bond and powers go beyond touch. I can help you back down through flying once you're safely out of the cave."_

" _Will I be facing anything on my way out like I did getting you?"_ Yusei asked.

" _I'm honestly not sure,"_ it answered. _"Now clear your mind once again so I can bring us up."_ Yusei nodded and did so. It wasn't long until his feet lifted off the ground. _"You know what to do."_

' _Bring me up and to the cave entrance,'_ Yusei thought and he was quickly taken that way.

It didn't take long before they were at the cave entrance. He landed gently but couldn't notice how he felt a bit more exhausted and weaker. Not to the point that it would change how he would work, but he felt a bit weaker. Yusei ignored it for the time being and ran through the cave.

The corridors seemed to have changed since he was last in here, but the stone was guiding him. As such, it wasn't long before they reached the stone's resting place. He gently set the stone back in place.

" _Thank you, Yusei. I will be sure you get out and back down the mountain safe,"_ the Stone of the Stars told him. _"Be warned since our connection is a bit farther apart, your energy will be drained a bit more than if you were holding me. But you should be fine."_

"Right," he agreed. "Thanks."

" _Of course, Yusei, Priest of the Stars,"_ it responded before Yusei ran out.

Yusei noticed a faint glow around his body. He heard a growl and turned behind him to see a black mist following him. A hand reached out towards his leg, but it hit the light and it immediately returned its hand to its side in pain.

Yusei saw the entrance up ahead with him getting closer to it. However, it was beginning to shut on him. He sped up and barely managed to squeeze through with the door completely shut a second as his left hand finished coming outside.

"Okay, Stone of the Stars, can you still help me here like you said?" Yusei called a bit quietly, having a gut feeling the stone could still hear.

Its laugh was heard a bit. _"Yes, Yusei, of course. Do as we've done before."_ The human nodded and cleared his mind as usual. He took a deep breath and stepped off the cliff. He didn't fall as expected and he immediately thought, _'Bring me to the ruin's roof.'_ His body turned and went in that direction.

When he landed, he went to a knee for a moment and panted to try to regain some strength that he had lost. "Thanks again, Stone of the Stars," he whispered. He shakily stood up and walked down the stairs, keeping a hand against the wall for a bit of balance. That final flight had weakened him quite a bit, though he knew it would've been even worse if he had to take the long way down.

He saw his friends talking to Keeo and Domo in the main area. But they were quick to notice him and hurried over.

"The stone back in place, Yusei?" Keeo asked. He nodded. "You're obviously still extremely exhausted after what happened. Why don't we get you all some water and food? Then we can get you back to the mainland where you can rest."

"Alright," he agreed. "Thanks." The others nodded in their own thanks. With that, they went to do as suggested.

Once again the earth would return to peace, without the worry of annihilation. They only could hope nothing more would happen and hope the balance would never be broken again.

 **Hey, guys! Yep, that's it! The end of Stone of Balance. I know it's not the best ending I've done but I asked a couple people and friends and they said that is was a good enough ending since there was no other way to wrap it up better as it was. So, sorry, if you're not the biggest fan of the ending. I hope it isn't too bad.**

 **Let me know what you thought through PMs and reviews. I would love to hear your thoughts. Until I see you and write to you again!**

 **-bricann**


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